Friedrich Merz, likely to become Germany's next chancellor, faces a precarious election. For a stable governance post-February 23rd vote, he depends on the underperformance of smaller parties, limiting his coalition options. Merz aims for a strong CDU outcome to minimize reliance on multiple partners. The CDU's moderate polling, along with a strong showing by the Alternative for Germany (AfD), complicates this objective. Observers highlight the crucial need for the CDU to achieve higher support to maneuver effectively in coalition politics.
"I want to strategically ensure that we have at least two options — and only need one," he said in a debate on Sunday.
"The big question is why is the CDU not gaining more support than it currently has?" said Robert Grimm, politics and social research director at polling company Ipsos in Germany.
Merz has been pretty candid about the ideal scenario: His center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) must do "so well in the election" that "only one coalition partner is needed, definitely not two," he said last year.
Even though he's the strong odds-on favorite to become chancellor, Friedrich Merz is in for a nervous election night.
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