Merz on the judge crisis: Strengthen trust in the coalition!”

Merz on the judge crisis: Strengthen trust in the coalition!”

The political landscape in Germany is currently characterized by a heated dispute that goes beyond the recent press conference by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). After 74 days in office, Merz commented today, July 18, 2025, on the current situation, which is burdened by the failed election of judges and the problem of electricity tax cuts. How Radio Euskirchen reported, this press conference is an important event for the new government and is seen as a kind of interim assessment of the black-red coalition.

Merz explained that the mood in the Bundestag was tense and that the judge's dispute over candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf would be the main topic. In the ARD summer interview, Merz was confident that talks with the SPD should take place in the near future to discuss the current conflicts. Nevertheless, the question remains as to how the coalition between the Union and the SPD would like to resolve the situation after the cancellation of the judges' election, since the Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) is held responsible for the debacle.

The judge dispute and its consequences

The election of federal constitutional judges, which was removed from the Bundestag agenda on Friday, is causing great excitement and is recognized as a serious problem for the government. Brosius-Gersdorf, who was nominated by the SPD, faces defamatory accusations that she is “ultra-left” or “left-wing radical”. In her own self-image, however, she stands in the “democratic middle”. In the debate about her person, almost 300 legal scholars criticized the claims as unobjective and untenable, while the Union withdrew its approval after allegations of plagiarism, which later turned out to be unfounded RND explained.

Amid this turbulence, it remains unclear how the Union and the SPD can overcome their differences. Matthias Miersch, SPD parliamentary group leader, emphasizes the need to regain trust in the center parties in order to prevent the country from drifting apart politically. The disputes over the failed election of judges are currently dominating political events, which makes cooperation more difficult South Germans summarizes.

The challenges of the coalition

Merz himself rated the first ten weeks of the government as “very good”, but had to admit that issues such as the electricity tax and the election of judges should be better communicated. The pending questions about the government's policies could also extend to other international issues. For example, US President Donald Trump's threatened increase in tariffs on EU goods from August 1st will be a further point of discussion. Merz had already announced on ARD that he viewed Trump's actions with concern, while arms deliveries to Ukraine and the possible reaction to Trump's ultimatum to Vladimir Putin were also on the agenda.

In addition, Merz will have to make clear the EU's opposition to taxation in his reporting on current issues. He sees the implementation of planned laws as assured and reiterates that he sees no risk of a government crisis due to the election of judges. Nevertheless, these developments are anything but unproblematic for the political future of the black-red coalition.