AfD makes major gains in German regional elections as Merz's conservatives suffer defeat
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives suffered a heavy defeat in Sunday's regional parliamentary elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, while the far-right AfD party made significant gains in both.
Exit polls conducted by broadcasters ARD and ZDF on Sunday point to major shifts in Germany's political landscape. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) are hovering around the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — a result that would be far worse than the party's historic low of 9%, recorded in Bremen in 1951.
AfD overtakes Social Democrats
Just two weeks after a decisive win in the neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is also set to finish first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with roughly 37–38% of the vote. That is more than double its result from the last election in 2021, when it won 16.7%. AfD narrowly edges out the previously governing Social Democrats (SPD), who are polling at around 36% — a sharp drop from the 39.6% they secured in 2021.
Setback in Berlin as well
In Berlin, Merz's conservatives are also likely to lose control of the city parliament. Polls show the far-left Die Linke party leading with about 25% of the vote, ahead of the CDU's roughly 20%. AfD is placing third in Berlin with 13.5–16% of the vote, an increase from the 9.1% it won in 2023.
Merz's response
After the poll results were announced, Merz described the CDU's defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as a catastrophe, but vowed to continue pursuing reforms. He said Germany's economic and political difficulties make the necessary, potentially unpopular reforms not less but more urgent, and pledged to pursue them with firmness, persistence and patience.
