German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union came in with just 5% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Sunday, the lowest result ever since World War II for the party in any state, in two elections that deepened pressure on the leader after 16 months in office.
Merz called the outcome “a disaster” for the CDU.
The far-right Alternative for Germany was on track to win the most votes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with public broadcasters ZDF and ARD projecting the party at 38%, ahead of the centre-left SPD on 36%. Other parties refuse to work with the AfD, making it unlikely to govern.
In Berlin, the CDU was projected to come in second with 20%, behind Die Linke, or The Left, on 24.5% according to ARD’s exit poll. The Left had never topped polls in the capital before. The AfD was projected to increase its share in Berlin to about 16%.
Merz rejected any retreat from his coalition government’s plans to push through economic, tax and welfare reforms. “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience,” he said. “I will demonstrate this as CDU party chairman and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”
The result followed a defeat two weeks earlier in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD won a major victory and the CDU saw its vote halved. That eastern-state result marked the far-right party’s best chance yet to form a regional government. Merz’s authority had already been damaged by the party’s loss in that vote.
Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader with promises to revive an economy that has barely grown in years. He has failed to lift the national mood and has become deeply unpopular. His tack to the right on immigration has not eroded AfD support while alienating voters further to the left.
Earlier this week, the leaders of eight German states backed him. No top-level allies have publicly called for his departure.
Burkard Dregger of the Berlin CDU said it was right that Merz should stay on. “He has got four years and we have to give him the four years,” he said, describing the electorate as “impatient.”
Merz abandoned a planned trip to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. Final results were expected later Sunday night or Monday morning.