Merz’s party suffers another defeat

Exit polls published after voting closed show significant losses for the party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in two regional elections held on Sunday.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is projected to take only 5.5% of the vote. If confirmed by the final results, this would be the CDU’s worst result in the state since World War II.

In Berlin, the CDU is expected to finish second with 20%, behind the Left Party, which according to public broadcaster ARD’s exit poll received 24.5% of the vote.

Meanwhile, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) posted strong results in both regional elections. The results come just two weeks after the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD approached a majority and strengthened its position in German regional politics.

The latest results come at a difficult political time for Chancellor Merz, who took over the government about 16 months ago with a promise to improve the German economy, which has recorded weak growth for years.

The AfD’s performance in the latest regional elections has added political pressure on the chancellor even within the CDU. So far, however, none of his senior allies has publicly called for his departure, while some party figures have warned against opening a debate about its leadership.

Amid the new political developments, Merz also cancelled a planned trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

After the exit polls were published, Merz declared that he intends to continue leading the CDU and to hold the chancellorship until the end of his term.