Merz’s SPD partners rebel after far-right rout – POLITICO

BERLIN — Friedrich Merz’s center-left coalition partners increasingly see themselves facing a stark choice: Turn against the reform course they’ve struck with the chancellor or risk sinking with him.

Following the conservatives’ stinging defeat to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday — a loss driven in great part by dissatisfaction with Merz and his party, the Christian Democratic Union — there are early signs the Social Democratic Party is turning against the series of reforms it has agreed to push through with the unpopular chancellor.

The SPD’s pivot is likely to deepen Merz’s myriad challenges as questions mount over his ability to lead Germany’s relatively weak coalition government. Merz has acknowledged that his dismal approval ratings helped fuel the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, but argues that the answer is to press ahead with his reform agenda while doing a better job of explaining its necessity to voters.