Merz Separates From CDU Deputy Secretary-General Stumpp Amid Authority Crisis

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and CDU deputy secretary-general Christina Stumpp announced on the evening of September 11 that she will step down from her post on September 21, 2026 — the day after the Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state elections — following days of reports that Merz had pressured her to resign. Stumpp had initially denied the reports on X, writing "That is inaccurate. I remain the CDU Germany's deputy general secretary," before accepting Merz's request. Journalist Robin Alexander reported that Stumpp had 'unusually actively' worked over the summer to block the appointment of Franziska Hoppermann as general secretary, a move viewed inside the party 'as outrageous and a sign of authority loss.' Merz proposed Thuringian Bundestag member and former school principal Michael Hose, 41, as her successor, citing a desire to strengthen eastern German representation in the party leadership. German media read the episode as further evidence of Merz's eroding authority within the CDU following the AfD's September 6 Saxony-Anhalt landslide.