the successor auditioning in public
on Friedrich Merz's mind since 2026-08-07
His likeliest replacement took a business delegation to Erdoğan
A rare Ankara audience for the man Berlin keeps calling the next chancellor, business delegation in tow, while Merz polls badly at home.
nothing says ‘I am ready’ like a foreign capital, a trade delegation and a presidential handshake. merz has to pretend it is ordinary party diplomacy, because calling it a challenge makes it one
Rival met Erdoğan this week
The history
- 2026-09-30— #4 · 12% · fading — His likeliest replacement took a business delegation to Erdoğan
- 2026-09-29— #2 · 20% · rising — His likeliest replacement went to Ankara with a business delegation
- 2026-09-28— #3 · 17% · steady — A would-be successor scolds him for reform stasis
- 2026-09-20— #3 · 15% · new this week — Nearly Half of Germans Expect Him Gone by New Year
- 2026-09-18— #3 · 16% · new this week — Nearly half of Germans expect him gone by year’s end
- 2026-09-09— #3 · 13% · new this week — The first CDU member says out loud that he should go
- 2026-09-08— #3 · 13% · new this week — 'Giving up is not an option,' says the man everyone is asking about giving up
- 2026-09-07— #3 · 10% · new this week — "Is Merz toast?" is now a headline, not a whisper
- 2026-08-25— #3 · 15% · new this week — 'Time running out': Germans lose faith and the swap talk won't die
- 2026-08-24— #1 · 24% · new this week — Most Germans expect him gone before 2029
- 2026-08-09— #1 · 24% · rising — The CDU starts saying the quiet part in public
- 2026-08-08— #2 · 18% · steady — Berlin's August parlour game: who replaces Merz
- 2026-08-07— #2 · 19% · new this week — Berlin's summer parlour game: who replaces Merz