German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cancelled a trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly amid political pressure at home.

Axar.az reports, citing The Telegraph, Merz was due to fly to the US next Tuesday, where he was to be awarded the “Henry Kissinger Prize” by the American Academy in Berlin. He was also due to address the UN General Assembly.

However, he cancelled the trip following his Christian Democrats (CDU) party’s poor performance after the hard-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s triumph in the Saxony-Anhalt election and growing discontent within his own party.

The loss, in which the AfD was close to securing an outright majority, has caused mounting political pressure on Mr Merz and his party with a number of leading conservatives calling for his resignation.

“Contrary to original plans, the chancellor will not travel to New York next week, as his presence is required in Berlin,” a government source said on Tuesday.

Mr Merz will instead attend a CDU parliamentary group meeting on Monday and a CDU/CSU parliamentary caucus meeting the next day, where he is likely to face anger from his party.