The interview came after the CDU came in third in regional elections in Merkel's home state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with 19 percent of the vote. The CDU was beaten by both the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which won 20.8 percent, and the ruling Social Democrats (SPD), which obtained 30.6 percent.
Merkel, for her part, took the blame for her party's election defeat, saying during a speech in parliament on Wednesday that "I am the head of the party and chancellor … naturally I am also responsible." At the same time, she strongly defended her decision to accept more than one million refugees in Germany last year.
Experts said that during the 20-minute speech, one could clearly discern Merkel's we-will-manage-it mantra as it pertains to Germany's ability to receive migrants. Bosbach, however, is unable to accept Merkel's motto.
"I'm surprised about this phrase because everyone knows that repeating it constantly is not enough. And here we must specify what she meant by using the words 'we' and 'it'. The optimism of this phrase should be tempered with realism. And now it's necessary to explain once again what we have achieved and what we have yet to implement," he told Sputnik.
Bosbach said that he wished he would have seen the federal government clarify their stance, so that ordinary people could better understand the policy of Germany's ruling coalition.
"I have always felt that people want to understand exactly what political decisions will be made and how the political situation will develop. People also want to know about a politician's position on pressing political issues," he said.
As far as the current German Chancellor is concerned, Bosbach remained skeptical about some experts' speculation regarding "Merkel's sunset." In this vein, he blamed the German media for overdramatizing the situation.
"She [Merkel] is under pressure, but it is an open secret for her. I do not feel that she is tired of being in office. I'd rather say that she will want to feel this pressure once again during the elections to the Bundestag in 2017. Although her approval rating has fallen in recent weeks, the figure is still much higher than popularity rating of other European countries' heads of government," Bosbach said.
He was echoed by Ulla Jelpke, a member of Germany's Left Party, who said in an exclusive interview with Sputnik that "Merkel faces a serious problem, but the CDU itself is also in hot water because it has yet to find a worthy alternative to Merkel."
Commenting on Merkel's determination to stick to her migration policy, which she confirmed during her speech in parliament, Jelpke said that all this was quite predictable.
"Of course, if the Chancellor admitted just one mistake it would mean the end for her because many would immediately start to hit out at her. I think she has no other option but to continue going this way. The party supports her on the whole, although criticism of her actions is not uncommon. So I guess she will adhere to the 'we-will-manage-it' mantra in the future," Jelpke said.
According to Focus, this rapid decline in the Chancellor's popularity was caused by a recent string of terrorist attacks that rocked Germany in July and were blamed on refugees.
In a separate survey, half of those polled for the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag said that Merkel should not stand for a fourth consecutive term in next year's election.
