Merz braces for leadership test as CDU faces regional defeats
TL;DR
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is bracing for a leadership-defining setback as the CDU risks historic losses in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a fragile Berlin showing, threatening his grip on power; with the 5% threshold at stake, he’s rallying state premiers, delaying a UN speech to address domestic fallout, and signaling reforms on pensions and energy costs to win voter support, while a restless CDU youth wing and the prospect of Hendrik Wüst as a successor loom for the party.
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