The expert assessed the chances of Hendrik Wust succeeding Merz as chancellor

Artem Sokolov, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about the chances of Hendrik Wust succeeding Friedrich Merz as German Chancellor.

In an interview with the Mail News on Monday, August 3, he noted that the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wust, is popular among the Christian Democrats and is indeed considered one of the main contenders for leading positions in the party and the state.

According to the expert, Friedrich Merz has noticeably lost his credibility within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in recent years, so if he leaves after the autumn regional elections, a representative of this party will be the most likely successor.

Sokolov noted that Wust is a well—known politician with extensive work experience, and his chances of becoming chancellor are now higher than those of Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU head Markus Zeder.

At the same time, the expert stressed that German politics remains extremely turbulent, so there is no absolute certainty in such a scenario. According to him, recent personnel changes have shown that less obvious scenarios are possible.

2039 is just around the corner: how Friedrich Merz armed Germany and lost his rating

Despite his unpopularity, he is able to put Germany on a war footing.

On August 3, German political scientist Alexander Rahr, in a conversation with NSN, said that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had become a hostage to the support of his partners in the ruling coalition, therefore he was yielding to them and retracting his words. This behavior causes discontent among his own party.

Rahr suggested that after the autumn elections, the CDU may merge with the Alternative for Germany party, the website reports. kp.ru . Political instability in Germany is likely to increase, and key decisions may be made in the coming months, he notes. Life.ru .

Der Spiegel magazine, citing CDU representatives, wrote on August 2 that the leadership of the German CDU party allows the resignation of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after the elections to the landtags of the three federal states, which will be held in September. His fellow party members have not yet discussed a specific plan for his departure, however, three former CDU prime ministers planned to propose to the chancellor to leave the post. 360.ru . At the same time, the author of the publication notes that at the moment, changing the chancellor does not meet anyone's interests, writes RT.