BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday came under attack from members of her own party for firing a minister blamed for a regional election that weakened her domestically as she fights the euro crisis.

In a shock move on Wednesday, Merkel dismissed Norbert Roettgen from his post as environment minister, after he led a much-criticized campaign in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia that saw a crushing loss for her conservatives.

Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), complained that Roettgen “had gone within a few hours from the great white hope of the union to the only person being blamed for the awful defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia.”

This all happened “much too quickly,” Bosbach told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Meanwhile, Norbert Lammert, another CDU politician who is also speaker of the Bundestag lower house of parliament, called the sacking “regrettable for the party as a whole.”

During a hastily organized news conference on Wednesday, Merkel replaced Roettgen, 46, with close ally Peter Altmaier as a consequence of the CDU’s worst ever result of 26.3 percent in the state election on May 13.

The fallout dominated Germany’s front pages Friday, with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily judging: “Never before has Merkel been so cold as ice in sending a minister packing, but she herself is damaged by this brutal act.”

Many papers said Merkel, known as “Mutti” or “Mummy” for her sometimes matronly air, has shown a more steely side to her character, with around 16 months to go until she bids for a third term in national elections.

“We’ve seen the end of ‘Mummy Merkel’,” said mass circulation Bild.

“She knew Roettgen’s time had come, and that he was causing more damage than benefit. The message is that the battle for the chancellery has begun, and Merkel is prepared to fight.” — AFP