Three weeks after her dismissal as Minister of State for Sports and Volunteer Work, Saxon CDU politician Christiane Schenderlein has expressed disappointment over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s decision—though she has refrained from publicly criticizing him. “Of course, I would have liked to continue in this role, but that was not up to me,” Schenderlein told the *Leipziger Volkszeitung* and the *Sächsische Zeitung*. “I respect his decision. But I will not be making any assessments.”
Merz informed her of the move by phone while she was returning from vacation. “The Chancellor made it clear right away that my dismissal as Minister of State for Sports and Volunteer Work had nothing to do with me. He expressed that he is satisfied with my work but now wishes to realign the office with someone who has a certain level of public recognition,” Schenderlein reported.
Merz had also removed Schenderlein from the ministry at the end of July as part of a cabinet reshuffle. This met with considerable discontent among CDU chapters in eastern Germany. Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) publicly criticized the change. The cabinet reshuffle was triggered by the resignation of Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn.
