Schenderlein Talks About Merz's Call and Her Replacement

Three weeks after being removed from her post as Minister of State for Sports and Volunteer Work, Saxon CDU politician Christiane Schenderlein has spoken openly about her disappointment. At the same time, the 44-year-old emphasized in an interview with the *Leipziger Volkszeitung* and *Sächsische Zeitung* that, according to her own account, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) did not cite any mistakes on her part as the reason for her dismissal.

“I was surprised and, of course, disappointed,” Schenderlein said. She had greatly enjoyed the position and would have liked to continue the work.

Merz had called her on her way back from vacation to inform her of his decision. In the call, the chancellor made it clear that the dismissal had nothing to do with her. He had been satisfied with her work but wanted to realign the office “with someone who has a certain level of public recognition.”

“Of course, you wonder what went wrong”

After the decision, she nevertheless reflected on possible mistakes of her own. “Of course, you wonder what went wrong, what I might have done wrong.” However, Merz and his inner circle had made it clear to her that it was not about any mistakes on her part.

At the end of July, it became known that Schenderlein would have to step down from her post as Minister of State for Sports and Volunteer Work in the Chancellor’s Office. She moved to the Federal Ministry of Health as Parliamentary State Secretary. A successor for her has not yet been officially announced.

The replacement had caused discontent, particularly among the CDU state associations in eastern Germany. Saxony’s Minister-President and CDU state chairman Michael Kretschmer had criticized the decision. He said he “did not understand the move at all.”

New Role at the Ministry of Health

Schenderlein herself refrained from criticizing Merz. She said she respected his decision and did not wish to comment further. She described her own record as sports minister as positive.

In her new role, Schenderlein intends to focus in particular on representing the perspectives of eastern Germany and rural regions. “How we deal with demographic change in eastern Germany can serve as a model for all of Germany.”