German voters head to polls in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as CDU faces threats from radical left and surging AfD
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Around 3.8 million voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will cast ballots on Sunday, with the embattled Christian Democratic Union under siege from the far-left Die Linke and the rising Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Voters in Berlin and the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will cast their ballots on Sunday in a crucial test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the future of Germany's political direction. About 2.5 million eligible voters in Berlin and roughly 1.3 million in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will have their say, with polling stations open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the contest is shaping up as a showdown between the Social Democratic Party's state premier Manuela Schwesig—who has presided over years of left-leaning policies—and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate Leif-Erik Holm, whose party is surging in the polls at 36 percent. The SPD stands at 37 percent, while the CDU, once a bulwark of stability, is struggling at about 6 percent, barely above the 5 percent threshold for parliamentary representation, according to public broadcaster ZDF.
In Berlin, the CDU is under intense pressure from the radical left-wing Die Linke, which is campaigning on controversial measures like state intervention in the housing market and has found support among younger voters influenced by leftist ideology. A loss in either state would further undermine Merz, who was recently forced to call a crisis meeting after the CDU's disappointing defeat in Saxony-Anhalt.
These elections are being watched closely not only in Germany but across Europe, as the AfD's recent gains in Saxony-Anhalt are seen by many as a sign that voters are rejecting failed leftist policies and seeking a return to national values ahead of the critical federal election in 2029.