Germany's far-right AfD makes strong gains in two state elections

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made significant gains in elections held Sunday in the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, according to exit poll data.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a largely rural state in Germany's formerly communist east, AfD won 37% of the vote per exit polls from public broadcaster ARD, ahead of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) on 35.5%. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) managed only 5.5%, barely clearing the threshold to enter the state parliament and marking its worst result there since World War II. Despite the strong showing, AfD is unlikely to enter government since the other main parties rule out working with it.

In Berlin, the far-left Linke party won the vote with 24.5%, followed by Merz's conservatives at 20%, while AfD also strengthened its position there, reaching 16%.

Speaking after polls closed, Merz called the result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a "disaster" for his party but pledged to accelerate reforms to the country's economy and affirmed he would remain in office.

Sunday's vote came two weeks after AfD narrowly missed a majority in the smaller eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt — a result that stunned many Germans and gave the party its best chance yet to form the country's first far-right regional government since World War II. That earlier result also badly damaged the standing of the 70-year-old chancellor, and in the past two weeks there have been calls even within his own party to replace him, though no senior allies have publicly demanded his departure.

Merz took office as chancellor 16 months ago pledging to revive an economy that has barely grown for years, but he has failed to lift the country's gloomy mood and has himself become deeply unpopular. Anticipating a difficult post-election period, he canceled a planned trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.