German conservative state premiers back embattled Merz in joint statement

BERLIN, Sept 16 (Reuters) - ‌Eight state ​premiers ​from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats backed the embattled leader in ‌a joint statement on Wednesday.

With the letter, ⁠the premiers aim to quell speculation about Merz ‌stepping down early after ‌a major defeat in a state election this month.

"Now more than ever, Germany's political ​landscape needs stability," they wrote, pointing to elections in Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece and ⁠France next year with uncertain outcomes.

"The path to restoring public ​trust in Christian Democrats lies in listening and taking political action, not in ​debates over personnel," they ‌added.

Merz's conservatives have called a special meeting for Sunday to coordinate the ⁠party's response to election results in the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, and demonstrate unity ⁠behind Merz's leadership, according to a party source.

Wednesday's letter ​was signed by the state premiers from Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin.

All ‌are members of Merz's CDU party.

Markus Soeder, premier of Bavaria and head ‌of CDU's conservative sister party CSU, has ⁠also said he is ‌backing Merz.

(Reporting ​by Andreas Rinke, writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Matthias Williams and Thomas ‌Seythal)

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