German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he intends to remain in office after his party suffered losses in two state elections on Sunday and pledged to press ahead with the government’s potentially painful reform agenda.
Exit polls showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) taking first place in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania while also increasing its support in Berlin.
Public broadcaster ARD’s exit polls indicated that Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won just 5.5 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The result was the party’s lowest in a state election since World War II and left it barely above the threshold required to enter the state parliament.
The anti-migration, Russia-friendly AfD was projected to win 37 percent, ahead of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) on 35.5 percent.
Merz described the CDU’s result as a “disaster” but rejected any retreat from his government’s reform agenda.
“The reforms have to come,” he said. “I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward.”
In Berlin, the CDU was projected to finish second with 20 percent, behind the hard-left Die Linke (the Left) at 24.5 percent. The AfD also gained ground there, reaching 16 percent, according to exit polls.
Mounting Pressure on Merz
Merz’s authority had already been weakened by the CDU’s defeat to the AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt election on 6 September.
The result shocked many Germans, who had believed that the country’s education system and laws prohibiting persecution had made Germany resistant to nationalism and claims of racial superiority following the atrocities of the Nazi era.
Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago with promises to revive an economy that has barely grown in recent years. The reforms have yet to improve the national mood, and the chancellor has himself become deeply unpopular.
The AfD’s strong performance in Saxony-Anhalt, where it has its best chance yet of forming Germany’s first far-right regional government since World War II, further weakened Merz’s standing nationally.
During the past two weeks, there have been calls within his party for him to step down as chancellor. No senior allies have publicly demanded his departure, however, and many have cautioned against what they termed “personnel debates”.
Apparently anticipating a difficult period after the election, Merz abandoned plans to travel to New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly.
Despite the setbacks, he has repeatedly said that he intends to remain chancellor and finish his term.
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