German Chancellor Merz's party faces fresh setback in state elections

Berlin: Exit polls showed Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party suffering heavy losses in two German state elections on Sunday, increasing pressure on a leader who has struggled to deliver on promises to revive Europe's biggest economy and curb the rise of the far-right AfD party.

Merz's centre-right Christian Democratic Union was projected to win 5.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a largely rural state in Germany's former communist east. That would be its worst result there since World War II.

Also Read: German state elections threaten new shock waves for Merz


In Berlin, the CDU was projected to finish second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to an exit poll by public broadcaster ARD.

The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party made significant gains in both elections. The votes came two weeks after the AfD fell just short of a majority in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where it now has its strongest chance yet of forming Germany's first far-right regional government since World War II.

Also Read: Trump warns he has entered 'deciding mode' on Iran, says 'big things' are in store

Merz's authority was severely weakened by his party's stinging defeat to the AfD in the Sept. 6 election, a result that shocked many Germans who had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws against persecution.