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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reshuffles top posts amid far-right advance

Jul 24, 2026, 12:13 AM | Updated: 12:32 am

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and Thorsten Frei, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Fede...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and Thorsten Frei, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks attend the cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa via AP)
Credit: Sebastian Gollnow/DPA via AP

(Sebastian Gollnow/dpa via AP)

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BY ASSOCIATED PRESS


BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reshuffled top posts on Friday as he tries to boost the fortunes of his deeply unpopular government ahead of regional elections in which a far-right party could get its first state governor.

Merz took office less than 15 months ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s economy, Europe’s biggest, after years of stagnation. But that economic turnaround has been slow to start. And the middle-of-the-road coalition of Merz’s center-right Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats, two traditional rivals, has yet to persuade voters that it can produce results.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and Thorsten Frei, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Fede...

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reshuffles top posts amid far-right advance