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NOS says Merz could go 'next week'; Welt says CDU premiers are backing him

Two days before Mecklenburg-Vorpommern votes, a Dutch broadcaster reports open talk of replacing Chancellor Friedrich Merz. A German daily reports support for him from CDU state premiers. Neither report names who is talking.

Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt
Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt as published by Der Freitag · seen at Der Freitag
Europe Germany

One chancellor, two readings. Three outlets wrote about Friedrich Merz on Friday, two days before the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They do not agree on where he stands.

Outlet On Merz Who is named saying it
NOS (NL) "Kanzlertausch" is openly discussed; he could go "volgende week al" its correspondent, Chiem Balduk
Der Standard (AT) "Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende?" It calls him "unbeliebt" no one; no figure given
Welt (DE) "Zuspruch für den Kanzler" from CDU state premiers no premier named in the summary we hold

Three words for one party. NOS calls the AfD "radicaalrechts" in its own voice. The taz headline says "Neofaschisten". Its text puts "gesichert Rechtsextremen" in quotation marks. Welt and Der Freitag put no label on the party in the text we hold.

The state race. Welt says the CDU candidate, Daniel Peters, has weak polls. Peters still calls his party "die Stimme der Freiheit". A political scientist told Welt that if the CDU misses the state parliament, what that means for Merz is "völlig offen". Der Freitag says SPD premier Manuela Schwesig has moved past the AfD in polls. Its one number is a year old: the SPD at 19 per cent.

What is not settled - No report names a CDU politician who wants Merz to go, or one who backs him. - No report quotes Merz. - We hold no current poll figure for any party. - "Next week" rests on one correspondent.

What this is about. Whether Germany's chancellor keeps his job after a run of bad state elections for his party.

How it got here. Friedrich Merz leads the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). His CDU/CSU alliance came first in the federal election of February 2025. The Bundestag elected him chancellor in May 2025, at the head of a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). He is chancellor and CDU party leader at once.

Germany is a federation of sixteen states. Each elects its own parliament and premier. State votes do not change the federal government directly. But they are read as verdicts on it, and a party that loses badly in them comes under pressure at home.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was founded in 2013. It has grown fastest in the eastern states. In 2025 Germany's domestic intelligence service classified it as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation. The AfD is contesting that in court. Two weeks ago, NOS reports, the AfD won heavily in Saxony-Anhalt and the CDU's share there was halved. Der Freitag calls the result a "Beinahe-Mehrheit" for the AfD.

The actors. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on the Baltic coast, votes on Sunday. Manuela Schwesig of the SPD has been its premier since 2017. Her party is Merz's federal coalition partner. The CDU's candidate there is Daniel Peters. The CDU's premiers in other states matter because they carry weight in the party that chose Merz.

What is at stake. A German chancellor cannot be removed by his party alone. He can resign. Or the Bundestag can elect a successor by majority, in a constructive vote of no confidence. A change would put the leadership of the European Union's largest member state in play mid-term.

Where it stands. The vote is on Sunday. The talk about Merz's future comes before any result.

What is being argued about

  • Whether Merz can survive a second heavy CDU defeat
  • Who in the CDU is backing him, and who is not
  • What to call the AfD
  • Whether Schwesig's SPD has overtaken the AfD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Where Merz stands: three outlets, three answersSide by side
OutletWhat it saysWho is named
NOSOpen talk of a 'Kanzlertausch'; he could go as early as next weekIts correspondent
Der StandardAsks if he is 'politisch am Ende'; calls him unpopularNo one
WeltCDU state premiers offer 'Zuspruch für den Kanzler'No premier named
None of the three names a CDU politician on either side.
Sources NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Der Standard
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Der Standard 🇦🇹AT · newspaper · independent Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende? Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Standard → What we have measured Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'foiled' the manoeuvre ×1Actor named dead uncounted The US is named as the attacker and stated flat, but the dead schoolchildren are neither counted nor named ×1Actors left unnamed the three requesting states are counted, never named ×1Aim attributed and quoted the stated aim is in quotation marks and marked as the service's account ×1 from 7330 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent Das kuriose Trio der Neu-Merzianer Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
What each outlet calls the AfDSide by side
OutletTermIn its own voice?
NOS'radicaalrechtse AfD'Yes
taz'Neofaschisten' (headline)Yes
taz'gesichert Rechtsextremen' (text)No, in quotation marks
Der FreitagNo label on the party—
Only one of these terms is marked as someone else's.
Sources NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → t taz
Left estimate · not a score
taz 🇩🇪DE · digital · Aufstieg der Neofaschisten: Sie sind wieder da Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at taz → What we have measured Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1 from 2718 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → D Der Freitag
Left estimate · not a score
Der Freitag 🇩🇪DE · digital · Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Freitag → What we have measured Accusation with no accuser an antisemitism charge is said to weigh on a coalition; who makes it is not named ×1Accusation without an accuser an antisemitism charge carried as a weight on the coalition, nobody named as making it ×1Actor named Names police and an investor as acting. ×1Actor named It names both actors, the investor and the police, in the active voice. It also states flatly that the rent was always paid. ×1 from 625 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The bias in this coverageBias

Merz's crisis is told without anyone named saying it

Two reports put the question of Merz's end before any vote is counted. Neither names a CDU politician calling for him to go. The one report on premiers backing him is a two-line summary that names none of them.

Most of what we hold is a lede

Five of the eight reports are a sentence or two. The voices quoted are a political scientist, the SPD premier and the CDU candidate. No report quotes Merz himself.

8 reports we hold on the vote and on Merz 5 reports that are only a lede 0 reports quoting Merz directly 2 reports putting a political label on the AfD or its rise in their own voice
Scored without the mastheads. Where the two passes differ, both are kept.
Sources NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Der Standard
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Der Standard 🇦🇹AT · newspaper · independent Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende? Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Standard → What we have measured Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'foiled' the manoeuvre ×1Actor named dead uncounted The US is named as the attacker and stated flat, but the dead schoolchildren are neither counted nor named ×1Actors left unnamed the three requesting states are counted, never named ×1Aim attributed and quoted the stated aim is in quotation marks and marked as the service's account ×1 from 7330 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent Das kuriose Trio der Neu-Merzianer Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Dann wird das Bundespräsidium der CDU den Reset-Button drücken“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Die CDU muss ihr Wahlergebnis selbst verantworten und sich fragen, warum sie so schwach dasteht“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Die Zuspitzung zwischen Schwesig und AfD ist nicht gut für das Land“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → D Der Freitag
Left estimate · not a score
Der Freitag 🇩🇪DE · digital · Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Freitag → What we have measured Accusation with no accuser an antisemitism charge is said to weigh on a coalition; who makes it is not named ×1Accusation without an accuser an antisemitism charge carried as a weight on the coalition, nobody named as making it ×1Actor named Names police and an investor as acting. ×1Actor named It names both actors, the investor and the police, in the active voice. It also states flatly that the rent was always paid. ×1 from 625 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → t taz
Left estimate · not a score
taz 🇩🇪DE · digital · Aufstieg der Neofaschisten: Sie sind wieder da Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at taz → What we have measured Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1 from 2718 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Claims and verdicts

true The CDU is polling weakly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ahead of Sunday's state election.
Welt describes the CDU candidate's poll numbers as weak and has a political scientist discussing whether the party will even get into the state parliament. Separately, NOS says another heavy defeat is expected, and Der Freitag reports the SPD gaining in the polls.
Checked against 4 sources:
Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Die Zuspitzung zwischen Schwesig und AfD ist nicht gut für das Land“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Dann wird das Bundespräsidium der CDU den Reset-Button drücken“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → D Der Freitag
Left estimate · not a score
Der Freitag 🇩🇪DE · digital · Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Freitag → What we have measured Accusation with no accuser an antisemitism charge is said to weigh on a coalition; who makes it is not named ×1Accusation without an accuser an antisemitism charge carried as a weight on the coalition, nobody named as making it ×1Actor named Names police and an investor as acting. ×1Actor named It names both actors, the investor and the police, in the active voice. It also states flatly that the rent was always paid. ×1 from 625 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
unverified Merz could be replaced as chancellor as early as next week.
This comes only from the NOS correspondent, who reports open speculation about a mid-term change of chancellor. Der Standard says only that his position could become more precarious, and Welt reports that CDU state premiers are backing him.
Checked against 3 sources:
NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Der Standard
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Der Standard 🇦🇹AT · newspaper · independent Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende? Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Standard → What we have measured Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'foiled' the manoeuvre ×1Actor named dead uncounted The US is named as the attacker and stated flat, but the dead schoolchildren are neither counted nor named ×1Actors left unnamed the three requesting states are counted, never named ×1Aim attributed and quoted the stated aim is in quotation marks and marked as the service's account ×1 from 7330 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent Das kuriose Trio der Neu-Merzianer Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
unverified The SPD under Manuela Schwesig has overtaken the AfD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern polls.
Only Der Freitag says this, set against an NDR poll from a year ago that put the SPD at 19 per cent. No other report we hold gives current poll figures.
Checked against 1 source:
D Der Freitag
Left estimate · not a score
Der Freitag 🇩🇪DE · digital · Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Freitag → What we have measured Accusation with no accuser an antisemitism charge is said to weigh on a coalition; who makes it is not named ×1Accusation without an accuser an antisemitism charge carried as a weight on the coalition, nobody named as making it ×1Actor named Names police and an investor as acting. ×1Actor named It names both actors, the investor and the police, in the active voice. It also states flatly that the rent was always paid. ×1 from 625 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Who wrote it

R Robin Alexander Welt
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Who is named as acting This is the only report on backing for Merz. The premiers giving it go unnamed in the lede.×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
1 unverified
From 7 reports we hold under this byline, at Welt. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
P Philip Grassmann Der Freitag
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Figure given This is the only report that puts a poll number on the page.×1
Headline vs body the headline says Schwesig is leaving the AfD behind; the body shows it is only a poll lead before the vote×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
1 unverified1 true
From 7 reports we hold under this byline, at Der Freitag. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
G Georg Seeßlen taz
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Headline vs body the headline uses 'neo-fascists' in its own voice; the body puts the official designation in quotation marks×1
Label in headline The headline says 'neo-fascists' in its own voice. The body puts the official term in quotation marks.×1
From 5 reports we hold under this byline, at taz, Der Freitag. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 5 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Die CDU muss ihr Wahlergebnis selbst verantworten und sich fragen, warum sie so schwach dasteht“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
Schwesig tells Welt she rejects the CDU's criticism of her campaign, and says the CDU must answer for its own weak position.
Die Ministerpräsidentin von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), hat Kritik aus der CDU an ihrem Wahlkampfstil zurückgewiesen: „Immer alles Manuela Schwesig in die Schuhe zu schieben, ist vielleicht auch genau die falsche Politik.“
Read it at Welt → https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/video6aad2627b1857e86757a617d/m…
Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent Das kuriose Trio der Neu-Merzianer Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
Welt is the only outlet reporting backing for Merz from CDU state premiers. Its summary names none of them.
Aus den Reihen der CDU-Ministerpräsidenten kommt Zuspruch für den Kanzler. Bei genauerem Blick offenbart sich jedoch eine überraschende Lagerbildung.
Who is named as acting: This is the only report on backing for Merz. The premiers giving it go unnamed in the lede. — “Aus den Reihen der CDU-Ministerpräsidenten kommt Zuspruch für den Kanzler.”
Read it at Welt → https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus6aace73ab1857e86757a5b55/un…
Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Dann wird das Bundespräsidium der CDU den Reset-Button drücken“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
A political scientist tells Welt the CDU's standing as a people's party is 'in Frage gestellt' if it misses the state parliament.
Sollte die CDU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern den Einzug in den Landtag verpassen, wäre ihr Status als Volkspartei „in Frage gestellt“, so Politikwissenschaftler Oliver W. Lembcke: „Was das für Merz bedeutet, ist völlig offen.“
Read it at Welt → https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/video6aad28cc7a2a14cb01bed7d3/l…
NOS
Centre estimate · not a score
NOS 🇳🇱NL · public broadcaster · public-service Podcast De Dag: Friedrich Merz, kanselier in crisis Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at NOS → What we have measured Actor label The backers are labelled politically; the opponents, all other major parties, get no label ×1Actor named Names the Supreme Court as the court that withdrew the warrant. ×1Actor named and attributed Construction workers are named as having damaged a cable by accident, and the report attributes this to the aviation regulator. ×1Actor named, in passive Israeli airstrikes are named as what destroyed the building, but the sentence puts the building first ×1 from 2340 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — public-service
Only NOS says Merz could be replaced as early as next week, on its correspondent's word. It calls the AfD 'radicaalrechts'.
In Duitsland wordt openlijk gespeculeerd over een aanstaande 'Kanzlertausch', een tussentijdse vervanging van bondskanselier Merz. Dit weekend wordt bij deelstaatverkiezingen opnieuw een grote verkiezingsnederlaag van zijn partij verwacht. Deze aflevering van De Dag luister je via NPO Luister en alle andere podcastapps. Bevalt het? Vergeet je dan niet te abonneren. Geschokt was bondskanselier Merz, na de mosterzege van de radicaalrechtse AfD in Saksen-Anhalt twee weken geleden. Zijn eigen partij, CDU, werd gehalveerd. Iets wat volgens Merz niet zonder gevolgen kon blijven, al dacht hij niet aa
Assertion vs attribution: talk of Merz's end is reported, but nobody is named as saying it — “wordt al openlijk over het einde van het kanselierschap van Friedrich Merz gesproken”
Assertion vs attribution: a heavy defeat is 'expected', with no poll and nobody named as expecting it — “Dit weekend wordt bij deelstaatverkiezingen opnieuw een grote verkiezingsnederlaag van zijn partij verwacht.”
Label: a political label is put on the AfD in the report's own voice — “na de mosterzege van de radicaalrechtse AfD”
Unattributed prediction: A heavy defeat is 'expected', but nobody is named as expecting it and no poll is cited. — “Dit weekend wordt bij deelstaatverkiezingen opnieuw een grote verkiezingsnederlaag van zijn partij verwacht.”
Who is named as acting: The talk of replacing the chancellor is in the passive, with no speaker named. — “In Duitsland wordt openlijk gespeculeerd over een aanstaande 'Kanzlertausch'”
Read it at NOS → https://nos.nl/l/2631507
Welt
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Welt 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent „Die Zuspitzung zwischen Schwesig und AfD ist nicht gut für das Land“ Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Welt → What we have measured Actor named The protests named as the cause of both the arrests and the injuries ×1Actor unnamed The party figure calling for a confidence vote is given only by title. ×1Age band without a share the winner's strength among the youngest voters is claimed with no percentage ×1Asserted flat The 'existential crisis' is stated as fact, not attributed to anyone. ×1 from 7442 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
CDU candidate Daniel Peters tells Welt his party is 'die Stimme der Freiheit', despite weak polls.
Trotz schwacher Umfragewerte in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern gibt sich der CDU-Spitzenkandidat Daniel Peters kämpferisch. Die CDU sei „die Stimme der Freiheit“ – er sei zuversichtlich, dass sie auch künftig eine „tragende Rolle“ im Land spiele.
Read it at Welt → https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/video6aad1d064453e0520be19b5c/c…
D Der Freitag
Left estimate · not a score
Der Freitag 🇩🇪DE · digital · Manu-Voodoo in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Freitag → What we have measured Accusation with no accuser an antisemitism charge is said to weigh on a coalition; who makes it is not named ×1Accusation without an accuser an antisemitism charge carried as a weight on the coalition, nobody named as making it ×1Actor named Names police and an investor as acting. ×1Actor named It names both actors, the investor and the police, in the active voice. It also states flatly that the rent was always paid. ×1 from 625 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
Der Freitag says Schwesig's SPD has passed the AfD in polls. It gives the only figure we hold: 19 per cent, a year ago.
Die SPD legt in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Umfragen überraschend zu. Wir haben einen weiteren britischen Medienpartner, und auf Netflix läuft eine neue Staffel der Serie „Fauda“ zum 7. Oktober 2023. Der „Endlich Freitag!“-Blick auf den Tag nanu, was ist denn in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern los? Seit der Wahl in Sachsen-Anhalt und der Beinahe-Mehrheit für die AfD ist die Republik in Alarmbereitschaft. Und im hohen Norden? Zieht die Ministerpräsidentin Manuela Schwesig von der SPD kurz vor dem Wahltag in Umfragen an der Partei vorbei, gegen die angeblich kein Kraut gewachsen ist. Noch interessanter wir
Headline vs body: the headline says Schwesig is leaving the AfD behind; the body shows it is only a poll lead before the vote — “Wie Schwesig die AfD hinter sich lässt”
Figure given: This is the only report that puts a poll number on the page. — “Da lag die SPD abgeschlagen bei 19 Prozent.”
Read it at Der Freitag → https://www.freitag.de/autoren/philip-grassmann/manu-voodoo-in-mecklenb…
t taz
Left estimate · not a score
taz 🇩🇪DE · digital · Aufstieg der Neofaschisten: Sie sind wieder da Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at taz → What we have measured Actor named names both coalition parties as the sides of the conflict ×1Actor named Makes the Constitutional Court the actor that overturned the Supreme Court's argument. ×1With no actor named critics The pressure comes from 'the internet', with no critic named. ×1Asserted in the outlet's voice a motive assigned to an entire electorate, no source and no evidence ×1 from 2718 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
taz calls the AfD 'Neofaschisten' in its headline. It asks how their rise can be explained 81 years after Nazi rule ended.
J a, was sage ich, Myriam. Nun sind sie also wieder da. Sie greifen nach der Macht, und das Volk, jedenfalls genug davon, jubelt ihnen zu. Sie brüllen, bedrohen, jagen, korrumpieren und verletzen. Sie sind sich ihres Sieges gewiss. Faschisten soll man nicht sagen, aus politischen und historischen Gründen. Vielleicht glaubt man bei den Liberalen, dass Faschisten weniger faschistisch sind, wenn man sie nicht Faschisten nennt. Der offizielle Name, lach nicht, Myriam, ist „gesichert Rechtsextreme“. Es sind also keine Nazis, i bewahre, es sind „Gesirems“. Die Gesirems sind in unserer Nachbarschaft,
Headline vs body: the headline uses 'neo-fascists' in its own voice; the body puts the official designation in quotation marks — “Aufstieg der Neofaschisten: Sie sind wieder da”
Label in headline: The headline says 'neo-fascists' in its own voice. The body puts the official term in quotation marks. — “Aufstieg der Neofaschisten: Sie sind wieder da”
Read it at taz → https://taz.de/Aufstieg-der-Neofaschisten/!6213242/
Der Standard
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Der Standard 🇦🇹AT · newspaper · independent Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende? Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Der Standard → What we have measured Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'foiled' the manoeuvre ×1Actor named dead uncounted The US is named as the attacker and stated flat, but the dead schoolchildren are neither counted nor named ×1Actors left unnamed the three requesting states are counted, never named ×1Aim attributed and quoted the stated aim is in quotation marks and marked as the service's account ×1 from 7330 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — independent
Der Standard asks whether Merz is finished and calls him 'unbeliebt', with no poll behind it.
Thema des Tages Ist Friedrich Merz politisch am Ende? Steht die deutsche Politik vor neuen Chaostagen? Nach den anstehenden Wahlen am Wochenende könnte es für den unbeliebten Kanzler Friedrich Merz noch einmal brenzliger werden German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz gives a press statement after visiting UPM Biochemicals in Leuna, Germany, September 3, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Mang REUTERS/Christian Mang Friedrich Merz hat so einige Probleme. Schlechte Umfragewerte, schlechte Wahlergebnisse, Unruhen in seiner eigenen Partei, ein unbequemer Koalitionsp
Assertion vs attribution: 'unpopular' stated flat, with no figure behind it — “für den unbeliebten Kanzler Friedrich Merz”
Asserted not attributed: 'Unpopular' is stated flat, with no figure behind it. — “für den unbeliebten Kanzler Friedrich Merz”
Read it at Der Standard → https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000340364/ist-friedrich-merz-polit…
Checked, didn’t cover
D De Telegraaf
Centre-right estimate · not a score
De Telegraaf 🇳🇱NL · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accused named the accused is named and aged, and his not-guilty plea is carried ×1Accused's voice carries the not-guilty plea and names the accused ×1Actor named Authorities named as the ones who made the arrests ×1Asserted vs attributed 'blackmail' stated flat, with no source and no named state that applied it ×1 from 10020 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → P Público
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Público 🇵🇹PT · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Anyone hurt The only report carrying casualties gives a count and no names ×1Asserted or attributed the Saudi account arrives as a confirmation, not a claim ×1Casualties stated flat, unnamed the same two deaths are stated without source and without who killed them ×1Flat context The same Iran link is stated flat, with no source ×1 from 3295 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → D De Standaard
Centre estimate · not a score
De Standaard 🇧🇪BE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named Russia is named as acting on the bridge, in active voice ×1Asserted vs attributed states sabotage flat, with no source ×1Asserted vs attributed states flat, with no source, that the officers were wrong to suspect him ×1Attribution The whole arrest is sourced second-hand to other media. ×1 from 4325 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Deník N
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Deník N 🇨🇿CZ · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named The headline names speculators as the actors who evicted a grandmother, stated flat. ×1Asserted, and a government judged A wave of Russian state terrorism is stated as fact and Germany is rated on its response; the piece is labelled a comment ×1Asserted, not attributed Washington's refusal and its reasoning stated flat, with no source ×1Assessment stated flat Says in its own voice, with no source, that Russian air defence worked well. ×1 from 1266 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → El Mundo
Centre-right estimate · not a score
El Mundo 🇪🇸ES · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named The dispute is between named Spanish officials over who was warned. There is no figure of Moroccan personnel. ×1Actor named The dispute is between named officials, and the report carries no figure. ×1Asserted, not attributed defiance of a named president is stated flat as what the meeting was ×1Asserted not attributed States Moscow's own reason, retaliation, as fact ×1 from 4700 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Brussels Signal
Right estimate · not a score
Brussels Signal 🇧🇪BE · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted vs attributed cause and effect on services asserted in the reporter's voice, no figure attached ×1Asserted vs attributed States record diesel prices flat, with no source; another report says there is no shortage ×1Asserted vs attributed The figure of 72 is stated flat, with no named source or document. The report's own inference is 'significant infiltration'. ×1Asserted vs attributed record diesel prices stated flat, with no figure and no source ×1 from 674 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Dagens Nyheter
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Dagens Nyheter 🇸🇪SE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accused label flat accused is labelled far-right without attribution, and not named ×1Affected counted Only report to count the residents affected ×1Asserted or attributed the majority stated flat, with nobody credited for the count ×1Asserted or attributed the demand is written as the report's own flat sentence before it is attributed to anyone ×1 from 3487 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Digi24
Centre estimate · not a score
Digi24 🇷🇴RO · TV/radio · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured A judgement of the Union quoted in the headline the premier's verdict on the Union printed as the headline claim ×1Asserted vs attributed states flat, with no source, that the attackers were separate from the shepherds ×1Asserted vs attributed States flat that the document is fake; another report sources this to the Order's ambassador ×1Attributed, not asserted Russia's account of where the strike happened is given to the Kremlin, with the news agency chain named ×1 from 5389 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Efimerida ton Syntakton
Left estimate · not a score
Efimerida ton Syntakton 🇬🇷GR · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Adjective without figure Calls the war bloody but gives no count ×1Anyone hurt named the only report we hold that names one of the dead ×1Anyone hurt named the only report we hold that names a person who died ×1Asserted not attributed Calls the move 'unprecedented' in its own voice ×1 from 8180 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Observador
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Observador 🇵🇹PT · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accusation attributed The fuel retailers' charge is attributed, 'accuses'. No government response is carried. ×1Affected person unnamed the woman is not named, and no cause of the eviction is given ×1Analyst verdict as headline one commentator's judgement on European mood is the headline ×1Asserted or attributed the charge against two foreign states is carried as the prime minister's view, not the report's ×1 from 9741 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Telex
Centre estimate · not a score
Telex 🇭🇺HU · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor framed as giving The headline makes the government the actor, and what it does is support drivers. ×1Actor named NATO is named as acting; it 'chased them off' ×1Adopted term Uses the government's own phrase 'targeted support' without quotation marks ×1Asserted vs attributed 'under cover of night' attributed to Mária Schmidt, with the ministry's 8pm set beside it ×1 from 3231 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Frankfurter Allgemeine
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Frankfurter Allgemeine 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor label The Houthis are called a militia and are cast only as the threat ships need protecting from. ×1With no actor named critics 'After criticism', with no one named as the critic. ×1Anyone hurt counted gives an injury figure, attributed to the ministry, but does not say who was hurt or by whom ×1Asserted flat the report judges the offer vague in its own voice, unattributed ×1 from 8701 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Rzeczpospolita
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Rzeczpospolita 🇵🇱PL · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accountability The only report to say prosecutors are investigating ×1Asserted not attributed Hungary's need for more time is stated as fact, not as the government's claim ×1Claim asserted flat says EU law has never known such an offer, with no lawyer, official or text cited ×1Correction carried the correction is in the lede, attributed to Lithuania ×1 from 5701 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Magyar Nemzet
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Magyar Nemzet 🇭🇺HU · newspaper · party-aligned No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accusers named as participants The headline names two current accusers as having taken part in the concession. ×1Aside aimed at one figure the handover is framed as reading homework for the opposition leader who asked for it ×1Asserted, not attributed The motive is stated in the report's own voice, hedged only by a rhetorical formula rather than by a source. ×1Asserted not attributed a contested motive is the entire lede, with no source for it ×1 from 2932 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Le Figaro
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Le Figaro 🇫🇷FR · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted, not attributed the capture of the strait and a "lightning offensive" are stated flat, with no source and no date ×1Asserted vs attributed The mayor's account and his opponents' charge are both attributed. ×1Asserted vs attributed The capture of the strait is stated flat, as settled background to a different story, with no source and no date for the claim. ×1Attacker identified by nationality in the headline ×1 from 7685 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Politico Europe
Centre estimate · not a score
Politico Europe 🇧🇪BE · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named vaguely The opponents are 'other capitals', with no country named ×1With no actor named accusation The coup accusation is in the passive; the accuser is not named ×1Asserted vs attributed The contradiction is stated as fact by the report, sourced only to unspecified official notes ×1Asserted vs attributed the stall stated flat in the headline, with Athens named as the actor that rejected ×1 from 1192 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → HotNews.ro
Centre estimate · not a score
HotNews.ro 🇷🇴RO · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Accusation unanswered AUR's claim of a plan agreed between the president and PSD runs in the headline and lede. No reply from the president is carried. ×1Actor named Names the blocs that refuse any exemption ×1Anonymous sourcing The jamming device found in his car rests on unnamed judicial sources, relayed through a news agency. ×1Asserted not attributed the outcome is declared settled before voting opens ×1 from 4469 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → iDNES.cz / MF DNES
Centre-right estimate · not a score
iDNES.cz / MF DNES 🇨🇿CZ · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted vs attributed The cause and the forecast are both attributed to the bank's own statement ×1Asserted vs attributed The headline attributes the charge that Putin ordered the rules of war dropped to Zelensky ×1Attributed The facts are attributed to the Polish army in the lead sentence ×1Attributed the bridge damage is sourced to Kyiv's mayor on Telegram ×1 from 4739 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Svenska Dagbladet
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Svenska Dagbladet 🇸🇪SE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Attributed context The Iran link is hedged and credited to another newspaper ×1Hedged context Base's use for strikes on Iran is hedged and attributed to another paper ×1Hedged or flat a directional claim about the race stated flat, with no poll figure behind it ×1Loss stated flat, size not given a large loss asserted with no figure, and a coalition demand named in the same line ×1 from 3297 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Silence is recorded, not inferred — each of these was read when we built this story and carried nothing on this event.
We could not read these
ABC
Centre-right estimate · not a score
ABC 🇪🇸ES · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Figure chosen 80,000, stated flat and unsourced; every other report we hold says about 70,000 ×1Figure chosen 80,000 crossed, stated flat, no source for the number ×1How hard the claim is stated Calls it an invasion in the outlet's own voice, unattributed, inside a sentence about the judge. ×1Which figure is used same two days, no figure at all: thousands ×1 from 225 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Corriere della Sera
Centre estimate · not a score
Corriere della Sera 🇮🇹IT · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Kathimerini
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Kathimerini 🇬🇷GR · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Anyone hurt counted, not named the same first witness, identified by his job and as one of 57 ×1What is counted the only report that counts how many defendants actually turned up ×1Whose voice is quoted the only defendant's words we hold, three words, unrebutted and unexplained ×1Word for the event rail accident, and without the article, further loosening it from the case ×1 from 115 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Le Soir
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Le Soir 🇧🇪BE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Die Presse
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Die Presse 🇦🇹AT · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Who is named as acting Calls the party right and its people the far right in the outlet's own voice; three reports use only its name. ×1 from 70 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Il Giornale
Right estimate · not a score
Il Giornale 🇮🇹IT · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Euractiv
Centre estimate · not a score
Euractiv 🇧🇪BE · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Measure chosen the only report we hold that breaks the result down by voters' age ×1Measure chosen the only report we hold that publishes how the age groups split ×1Which figure is used about 80,000 stated flat and unsourced — an order of magnitude above every other figure we hold ×1Which figure is used Puts 80,000 across the border in two days with no source for the figure and nobody attributed for it. ×1 from 41 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Le Monde
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Le Monde 🇫🇷FR · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Anyone hurt named or counted the only death toll we hold; a round number, hedged, nobody named ×1Anyone hurt named or counted the only report we hold that gives a death toll; it counts, does not name ×1Who says the label flat in the headline, no source, no hedge ×1 from 42 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → El País
Centre-left estimate · not a score
El País 🇪🇸ES · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Figure chosen more than 70,000 crossed, the higher figure not mentioned ×1Word for the event invasion, in quote marks and put in a party leader's mouth ×1Word for the event, attributed same word, but in quotation marks and inside a politician's accusation ×1 from 144 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → la Repubblica
Centre-left estimate · not a score
la Repubblica 🇮🇹IT · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Nothing scored yet. We do not carry a rating for any outlet — only what we have measured from published text. Outlet profile in The AI Times → Süddeutsche Zeitung
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Süddeutsche Zeitung 🇩🇪DE · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Hedged or stated states flat that police do not know whether the person seen is the man they want ×1Suspect identified how age and home town only, and the sabotage is what police attribute, not what the report asserts ×1 from 257 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → Gazeta Wyborcza
Centre-left estimate · not a score
Gazeta Wyborcza 🇵🇱PL · newspaper · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named Russia is named as acting against the bridge, in active voice ×1Asserted cause Voters' reason for backing the AfD is stated flat as a fact about the mainstream parties. ×1Asserted, not attributed the three-year gain is stated as what the deal would have secured, with no source ×1Asserted versus attributed the link between the pardons and the US talks is stated flat in the headline ×1 from 1246 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
These are must-cite outlets for this desk that we did not manage to read when we built this story. That is a gap in our reach, not a silence on their part, and it is not evidence of anything about this story.

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