German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to remain in office and push through economic reforms, despite devastating results for his CDU in two state elections — one lost to the far right and another to a leftwing party.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU scraped past the 5% threshold needed to enter the state parliament, posting its worst-ever regional result, which Merz described as a “disaster.” The anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) nearly doubled its previous vote share, securing almost 38% and coming in first in the formerly communist region.
In Berlin, the far-left Linke party appeared on track to win with roughly 25% of the vote, five points ahead of the CDU, while the AfD also posted a strong double-digit result.
Merz, deeply unpopular and under intense pressure after a string of electoral setbacks this year, faced renewed speculation about his political survival following the AfD’s record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks prior.
AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla celebrated the results and urged Merz to step down.
Merz acknowledged in a rare election-night address that the CDU had been deprived of “tailwinds from Berlin,” but insisted he would stay on as chancellor and party leader while pursuing reforms in taxes, healthcare, pensions, and bureaucracy.
“Germany is capable of reform. I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the poison of authoritarianism,” he stated.
With roughly 2.5 million eligible voters in Berlin and 1.3 million in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the results dealt a severe blow to Merz’s leadership. His eroding support has fuelled instability across Europe’s largest economy, which is grappling with deindustrialisation, sluggish growth, and soaring energy costs.
The AfD, now the strongest opposition force in parliament and leading national polls at around 30%, is campaigning for Germany to exit the euro, halt aid to Ukraine, and carry out mass deportations of migrants — citing the CDU’s decline as one of its central objectives.
The CDU’s collapse in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is especially painful for Merz given that the state was Angela Merkel’s constituency. After just 16 months in office, Merz’s standing contrasts sharply with Merkel’s 16-year tenure.
Merz took office in May 2025 at the head of a coalition with the SPD, promising to revive the economy and curb AfD support. Only one in ten Germans now express satisfaction with his performance, with disconnection from voters particularly acute in the former East, where the AfD is strongest.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, SPD Premier Manuela Schwesig distanced herself from a key pension reform backed by her party within Merz’s coalition. She is expected to retain power in a left-leaning coalition despite the AfD’s strong showing, though all other parties have ruled out cooperating with the far right.
A Linke victory in Berlin could see Elif Eralp become the capital’s first leader of Turkish origin, as the party pushes for expropriation of corporate landlords to address the housing crisis.
