German Chancellor Merz says he will remain in office after poor state election results

Exit polls from Sunday’s local elections indicate that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) performed poorly in both Berlin and the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party is projected to just meet the threshold to enter the state parliament, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to lead in vote share. In Berlin, the CDU is forecast to be overtaken by Die Linke.

Despite the setbacks, Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters he will stay in his post and push forward with the coalition’s economic, tax and welfare reform programme. > "The reforms have to come. I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward," he said.

Merz added that the reforms are intended to counter what he described as a growing attraction to authoritarian ideas in society. > "I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, with the fascination of authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society."

The results come two weeks after the CDU suffered a major loss in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD doubled the party’s vote share. Analysts note that the AfD’s projected 38% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and 20% for the CDU in Berlin reflect a shift in voter sentiment, though the AfD is unlikely to form a government in the former state due to other parties’ refusal to cooperate.