(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, FEB 20 - A year after his election win, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a congress of his conservative party Friday, bruised by low popularity ratings, unmet campaign promises and pressure from the far right. Among the high-profile guests at the CDU party congress for the first time in years will be his predecessor and long-time party rival Angela Merkel. Merz, 70, has made it his mission to steer their Christian Democratic Union back to its conservative roots and undo the more liberal legacy of Merkel, especially her welcome to more than a million migrants a decade ago. But the party congress comes as Merz faces pressure over a limping economy, poor personal approval ratings and the sustained threat of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of several regional elections. A barometer of the party's mood at the national congress in the southern city of Stuttgart will be whether Merz gets re-elected as party chief with the customary result in the 90 percent range, or less. (ANSA-AFP).