Germany's centrist parties lose ground as far-right and far-left surge

Berlin voters are confronting a crowded ballot, with many saying it is harder to predict which parties can form stable governments. Pensioner Ute Istock, who recently voted for Die Linke for the first time, said she feels centrist parties are out of touch and that "voting has become tricky" because "there are too many parties and forming viable majorities is becoming impossible."

The shift comes as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats suffered their worst result in the recent Berlin state election. Merz warned that "trust in state institutions is declining" and that radical parties on both the left and the right are exploiting the loss of confidence.

Social Democrat Matthias Mirsch told parliament that political discourse has become overly reductive, noting that "the middle ground doesn't count" after the AfD’s landslide win in Saxony-Anhalt. Communications adviser Maximilian Flügge attributed the narrowing debate to social-media algorithms that favor outrage over nuance.

Despite the setbacks, Merz said his government will continue pursuing tax and welfare reforms to revive the economy, adding that officials must also "reach people on an emotional level" to communicate their agenda. He criticized the AfD’s proposal of "remigration," calling it "nothing more than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color," a remark that drew both applause and jeers in the Bundestag.