Chancellor Merz cancels trip to the UN General Debate

The "foreign chancellor" Merz is under pressure - domestically. The election result in Saxony-Anhalt affects him - and the next elections are imminent. Now the CDU leader is cancelling a trip to the United Nations: he is needed in Berlin. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cancelled his planned trip to the UN General Debate in New York next week.

He will not travel to New York next week "contrary to original plans, as his presence in Berlin is required," government sources told the ARD capital studio. Merz actually wanted to give a speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon local time. But on Sunday, elections will be held in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. After the historically poor performance of his CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz is under internal criticism.

Schwerin more important than New York On Monday the top committees of the CDU meet, on Tuesday the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag. The two pending elections are considered to be decisive for the political future of the Chancellor. In addition, the CDU in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is threatened with a single-digit result in an election at state level for the first time in 75 years. According to recent surveys, missing the five percent hurdle does not seem impossible either.

In the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern trend of ARD, the CDU lands at 7 percent. The General Debate of the UN General Assembly takes place every year in September. Merz had already waived participation last year - also because there had been discussions in the black-red coalition in Berlin. For Germany, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) had spoken instead.

In all likelihood, this will also be the case this year. In June, Germany had failed in its candidacy for the UN Security Council. According to critics, this was also because the Federal Government had campaigned too late and too little for votes from the 191 members entitled to vote.