The government has officially confirmed a meeting between Friedrich Merz and Matthias Döpfner, the CEO of Axel Springer publishing house. According to government spokesman Stefan Kornelius, the encounter took place in the spring of 2026 and was the only such appointment during Merz’s term in office. Confidentiality regarding the conversation’s contents was established, and the spokesman stressed that circulating the details in the media would be inappropriate.
Kornelius further noted that meetings with publishers are not unusual occurrences.
Previously, Friedrich Merz had mentioned during a CDU committee meeting in the spring that he might encourage various publishing houses to seek a different majority in the Bundestag, even if he himself was being urged to do so. When pressed by the dts news agency regarding this statement, Kornelius asserted on Friday that there was “no connection” between Merz’s remarks and the meeting with Döpfner. Kornelius explained that Merz was referring generally to “the diverse media reports from many publishing houses,” which expressed a desire to soften or change the existing firewall policies. He added that Merz opposed this desire based on his political stance.
Meanwhile, the network “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND) reported via a podcast that Döpfner allegedly pressured Merz during their private discussion to allow the CDU to collaborate with the AfD. Merz supposedly refused, stating, “Only over my dead body.” The RND also claimed that as the Chancellor abruptly ended the conversation, Döpfner told him, upon leaving the room, “You will regret this.” However, these highly dramatic claims have not yet been publicly verified. Already on Wednesday, deputy government spokesman Hille referred to the stories as “absurd rumors.”
