Friedrich Merz on Friday reassigned three senior allies, moving chief of staff Thorsten Frei to lead his party’s parliamentary group, naming Health Minister Nina Warken as chancellery chief and elevating Carsten Linnemann to health minister.
The shake-up follows the resignation of the previous parliamentary group leader over personal conduct and comes as Merz tries to revive a government that has been in office less than 15 months.
Rock-bottom approval ratings and a slow economic turnaround have hurt Merz’s coalition of the center-right Union bloc and center-left Social Democrats, which has struggled to convince voters it can deliver results.
Regional elections now loom with the far-right Alternative for Germany positioned to potentially win its first state governor’s post, increasing pressure on Merz to stabilize his government.