If it was originally built as automatic and then converted to adult (manual) operation, restoring it to automatic should be fairly easy. If it was always manual, the job would likely be more difficult. I would not tolerate an automatic safety on any gun I intended to keep and use, for any reasonable length of time. JMO, of course. I probably shoot several thousand shots at clay targets for each one shot, in the field. Many people like them.
If the Merkel mechanism is anything like the Berettas, it might simply require adding a part(push rod), if you can get one.