Eight German state premiers back Merz amid speculation over future

The AfD responded to his remarks by saying it was filing a defamation complaint against the chancellor over what it described as "baseless" and "disgusting" claims.The chancellor's abrasive communication style and personal unpopularity - with just 14% thinking he is right for the job, according to a recent Bild poll - have raised questions about his viability as leader of both Germany and the CDU.The CDU's eight state premiers wrote, however, that "now more than ever, ⁠Germany's political landscape needs stability"."Our country will continue to need a stable and effective federal government with its own majority in the Bundestag [German parliament]," said the leaders of Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-anhalt" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="55991" data-entity-type="location">Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia.It comes after Markus Söder, the premier of Bavaria and leader of the CDU's sister party the CSU, stood by Merz.An unnamed party source told news agency Reuters that CDU officials will meet on Sunday to co-ordinate the party's response to the results of that day's state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania - where the AfD is poised for further gains and the CDU for further losses.However, the race is far more evenly split in the German capital than it was in Saxony-anhalt" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="55991" data-entity-type="location">Saxony-Anhalt, with the CDU and Die Linke (The Left) vying for first place, and the AfD and Greens not far behind, according to polls.