Key facts
- Hendrik Wuest, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, is seen as a potential successor to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- The ruling conservatives have suffered significant election losses, with the AfD topping two recent state elections.
- Merz's approval ratings have fallen to record lows, with only 11% approving of his job performance.
- Wuest is ranked as the third most popular politician in Germany.
- Wuest has adopted a different tone from Merz, emphasizing social justice and criticizing overly technocratic economic messaging.
Hendrik Wuest, the premier of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, is increasingly seen as a potential successor to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is under pressure following significant election losses for the ruling conservatives. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has topped state elections twice in recent weeks, highlighting voter dissatisfaction with the current government.
Wuest, who has repeatedly denied any interest in replacing Merz, recently undertook a visit to Turkey, meeting President Tayyip Erdogan. While such visits by state premiers are common, the timing of Wuest's trip amplified speculation about a potential leadership change, occurring as Merz grapples with his political future and coalition strains re-emerge.
Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered their worst defeat ever in the recent Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election, failing to pass the electoral threshold. Merz has vowed to continue despite record-low approval ratings, with only 11% of Germans approving of his job performance, and just 39% of his own party's supporters satisfied. Wuest, by contrast, is ranked as the third most popular politician in Germany, behind Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Baden-Wuerttemberg premier Cem Ozdemir.
Senior CDU politicians acknowledge the party's struggles, with some criticizing Merz's perceived lack of focus on "social justice" and his government's messaging on economic reforms as too technocratic. Wuest has adopted a different tone, emphasizing social justice and breaking with the AfD's anti-immigrant rhetoric, stating that it is inadmissible for anyone to feel personally threatened.