Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted he will remain in office after exit polls from two key state elections on Sunday pointed to major losses for his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The poor electoral results come just two weeks after the party suffered a dramatic collapse in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a historic upset victory that halved the CDU’s vote share.
In northeastern Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, exit polling from public broadcaster ZDF projects the AfD will capture 38% of the vote, putting it on track to win a plurality of support in the state. By contrast, the CDU is projected to barely cross the 5% threshold required to earn seats in the state parliament, a result that Merz himself described as “a disaster”. While the AfD is poised to win the most votes, it remains unlikely to form a governing coalition, as all other major German parties have ruled out working with the far-right group.
In the capital city of Berlin, where the CDU currently holds power, the party is also facing defeat. ZF projections put the CDU’s vote share at 20%, trailing the left-wing Die Linke party, which is expected to win nearly 26% of the vote.
These results have amplified already intense pressure on Merz, who has held the chancellorship for just 16 months. Plagued by poor public approval ratings, persistent rumors of a mid-term “chancellor swap” have circulated in German political circles for weeks, with speculation that party figures could oust Merz if the CDU failed to reverse its declining electoral fortunes. Earlier this week, eight regional party leaders publicly reaffirmed their support for Merz in an attempt to quell internal dissent.
Polling stations closed at 18:00 local time (17:00 BST), and official final results are expected to be released in the coming hours. This is a developing breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.