Aye he's been kissin' arse, saying how right Merkels policies are & what wonderful friends the krauts have been. As to his endorsement of Merkel, probably as useful as it was for cam-moron & Brexit (hopefully the kiss of death). There's a groundswell of discontent bubbling under the surface in Germany, even her own party & aligned partner (CSU in Bayern) are muttering about her replacement due to the damage shes brought down upon the CDU over the past couple of years.
AfD (populist right) are making inroads & gaining more support, but I think they'll remain outsiders in next years elections, that said though, the support they garner could well turn them into "King makers", as Germany uses a system of Proportional Representation & direct voting so coalitions are usually the way of gaining the majority in the "Bundestag"
Then again despite all that, the Germans seem to show an unbelieveable propensity for stupidity & will more often than not re-elect the people they've spent the last term bitching about!
In the words of one Mr. Forrest Gump, "Stupid is, as stupid does!"