Merz reshuffles top team as AfD threat grows before Germany's regional polls

Berlin,UPDATED: Jul 24, 2026 13:54 IST

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reshuffled senior posts on Friday as he tries to improve the standing of his deeply unpopular government before key regional elections in September, in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could take control of a state government for the first time.

Merz, who took office less than 15 months ago promising reforms and an economic turnaround, has struggled to convince voters that his coalition of the centre-right Union bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats can deliver results. With the recovery of Europe’s biggest economy slow to begin, his popularity has dropped sharply while the AfD has gained support amid widespread public discontent.

Merz made the changes after a senior ally, Jens Spahn, quit as leader of the Union’s parliamentary group over personal conduct that damaged his credibility. Spahn stepped down after it emerged that he and his husband had used the services of a surrogate mother in the United States to have a baby.

Surrogacy is not allowed in Germany, and Merz’s party opposes legalising it, a position it reaffirmed at a convention in February. Spahn himself had previously spoken against it, leading to accusations of double standards.

Merz said his chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, will take over Spahn’s position, one of the most powerful posts in the coalition. Frei is widely seen as better suited to that role than to coordinating the chancellery, and he had earlier served as the Union’s parliamentary chief whip under Merz when the centre-right was in opposition.

Health Minister Nina Warken will replace Frei at the chancellery, a post that is central to the smooth functioning of the government. She will be the first woman to hold the job. Another close ally, Carsten Linnemann, the general secretary of Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, will become health minister.

Merz said there will be more Cabinet changes, but gave no details. He said those decisions will take "a few days yet, and perhaps more time".

"The personnel changes follow a clear line," he said. "We want a government that works with great vigour and pleasure and also represents the personal diversity of our society and politics. We are a reform government and want to continue showing that."

The governing parties face three difficult regional elections in September. In Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany on September 6, the AfD hopes to win a majority that would give it control of a state government for the first time.

After months in which voters were put off by squabbling within the coalition, Merz’s government recently launched big plans for potentially painful changes. These include a proposed reform of the strained pension system, with a gradual increase in the retirement age, income tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners, and an effort to cut red tape.

"The government has found its rhythm, despite some criticism," Merz said last week. "We have delivered, and we have recognised the dimension of the tasks we face."

Warken moves to the chancellery after steering the first of the government’s reforms through parliament earlier this month. The measure is aimed at curbing rising costs in Germany’s health insurance system. Merz said she has shown that "she can push through reforms against resistance", praised her as a tough negotiator, and said that "she is also at home with the security policy issues" that are important at the chancellery.

Linnemann, a conservative with no government experience, will replace her at the Health Ministry. Merz said that "we must maintain the course of reform" in health policy and that this requires a "steadfast" minister.

"Friedrich Merz wants to show that this coalition is capable of acting, that he as chancellor is capable of acting," Uwe Jun, a political science professor at the University of Trier, told Deutschlandfunk radio. "He wants to put it on a faster and stronger path now."

Merz took no questions and did not comment on several German media reports that he also plans to replace Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder. Last year, his coalition set up a huge fund to support an effort to modernise worn-out transport infrastructure, but frustration remains, including over the unreliability of the national railway.

In all, the reshuffle marks Merz’s attempt to present a more effective government ahead of difficult regional elections, while keeping up a reform agenda on the economy, pensions, health and infrastructure as pressure on his coalition continues to grow.

With PTI Inputs

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