Friedrich Merz: How the Chancellor is breathing new life into the left-wing camp

The Chancellor is causing his coalition partner to shake their heads once again. Friedrich Merz, who in connection with migration policy still exists “problem” in the “Cityscape” spoke, arouses the worst fears of some Social Democrats – and sets off alarm bells for them.

“This vague language is dangerous because it opens up space for resentment – and with it AfD and their ideology inspires”Adis Ahmetovic told the star. The foreign policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag and chairman of the SPD in Hanover is calling on the Chancellor to clarify what he has initiated “Cityscape”- debate.

To a certain extent, Merz has torn down with one hand what he had built up with the other against his junior partner in the black-red coalition. Despite his clear statement against the AfD, he gave new oxygen to the Social Democrats’ latent distrust of how stable the CDU is. And the opposition from the Greens and the Left anyway.

Is the left-wing party spectrum now mobilizing against the Chancellor and his Union? And wouldn’t that be exactly to the taste of those you actually want to fight: the AfD?

In view of the constantly increasing poll numbers for the AfD, the CDU executive committee members discussed the right way to deal with the right-wing populists in the super election year of 2026 at a strategy meeting in Berlin’s Grunewald.

The attempt to keep the location of the closed meeting secret failed, as did the effort to . Well-known Union representatives had… star called for a change of course and initiated a heated debate in the Union.

Although yourself “nothing at all” changed how his CDU dealt with the AfD Friedrich Merz he claimed on Monday but a lot of time was spent on it. Explains what “our attitude” is. Affirms that there will be no cooperation with the right-wing populists. And recorded: “It’s not just details that separate us”.

He apparently considered the position assessment that Merz made on Monday morning after a strategy meeting of the CDU presidium, unambiguous in the announcement and sometimes irritable in the tone, to be necessary. In relation to your own party, which has now been brought into line. But also towards the coalition partner SPDwho had doubts about how the Chancellor’s party felt about the extreme right.

But the discussion doesn’t end there; Merz is responsible for this. Because now the debate about his controversial one is smoldering “Cityscape”-sentence by the coalition and by the media. Also on Monday, after CDU-Strategy meeting, Merz did not want to deviate from it.

“I have nothing to take back – on the contrary”rumbled the Chancellor. Merz repeatedly remained vague about what exactly that was in his eyes “problem” be. “Ask your daughters what I could have meant by that”said the Chancellor in response to a journalist’s question. He suspects a pretty clear and tidy answer.

There is a lot of anger, particularly in the left-wing camp. The tops of greens and Left Party criticized Merz’s statements as “hurtful, discriminatory and indecent” (Green Party co-parliamentary leader Katharina Dröge) and “racist failure” (Left co-leader Jan van Aken).

People in the SPD also shake their heads. Carsten Schneider, Federal Environment Minister and thus a member of Merz’s own cabinet, commented on this “X”: “As a father of two daughters, I can say: You can see the problem in our cityscape.” Schneider shared a picture that apparently shows neo-Nazis.

“What exactly is the problem that Friedrich Merz is talking about?”asks SPD MP Adis Ahmetovic. “Given his previous statements, I have a suspicion.” After all, it was Friedrich Merz who achieved a majority in the Bundestag after the traffic lights were turned off by accepting AfD votes. Or from “little pashas” and migrants who would snatch dentist appointments away from German citizens. At the time, Merz was still opposition leader.

“As Chancellor, he also speaks for the coalition”complains Ahmetovic. “As a member of the SPD, especially as a child of the big city, I don’t want to just leave it like that.” The chairman of the SPD Hanover demands that the coalition should agree on a common cityscape through a parliamentary resolution in order to rationalize the debate: How can vacancy be eliminated, provide more experience and culture as well as security and cleanliness? “Whether the Chancellor invites people to the Chancellery, discusses the issue in the coalition committee or we set up a working group: the main thing is that we clarify it”says Ahmetovic.

The simmering dispute over the “Cityscape”- Sentence also shows: Merz has virtually reactivated the left-wing party spectrum, from the Greens to the Left Party to the SPD, breathing new life into it – or at least offering plenty of attack space in order to sharpen his own profile. Tim Klüssendorf, the SPD general secretary, described Merz’ “Cityscape”-Statements on Monday evening in Pinar Atalay’s ntv talk, in any case “difficult to bear”. In the morning, after the SPD committee meetings, he made it clear again that the AfD “never” could be a partner for cooperation between democratic parties.

But just opposing it is not a strategy, and the Social Democrats are also aware of that. Secretary General Klüssendorf called for good government work. In the federal government, the AfD is currently polling between 25 and 27 percent, which is partly just ahead of the CDU and is twice as strong as the SPD. And there are five state elections coming up next year. According to the surveys, the ruling CDU in Saxony-Anhalt could lose out against the AfD and the SPD in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The nervousness is growing – to the delight of the AfD, to come to power. Through the new one “Firewall”debate and the “cityscape” sentence gave new oxygen to the SPD’s latent distrust of the steadfastness of its coalition partner.

“I want to believe Friedrich Merz when he says as Chancellor and CDU chairman that he sees it that way too”said Klüssendorf about the Chancellor’s statement that he ruled out cooperation between the Union and the AfD at any level. There are certainly residual doubts.

Klüssendorf added that the Chancellor will be judged by the fact that he unequivocally enforces his stance in the Union’s ranks as party chairman. Previously, co-party leader Lars Klingbeil had also warned the Union about an end to the “Firewall” warned and pointed out that this determination “an entry condition” for the SPD in the federal government.

In terms of content, the black-red coalition is currently making a name for itself primarily through conflict rather than consensus topics, from military service to the end of combustion engines from 2035 to pension policy. “The government has to solve problems”said Merz. “The government must not give the impression that it is divided.” It’s not her. With his “Cityscape”- statement he achieved the opposite.