Merz pledges to hold German coalition together after state election defeats
The chancellor says the CDU-SPD government is vital to Germany’s “democratic future” after major losses in two state elections.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to keep his governing coalition with the Social Democratic Party together, despite major defeats for his Christian Democratic Union in state elections.
Preliminary results reported by the BBC put the Alternative for Germany first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the CDU reportedly failed to reach the threshold for representation in the state parliament. In Berlin, Die Linke led, the CDU came second and the AfD made significant gains.
Merz described the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania result as a “heavy blow” and a “dramatic, unprecedented” setback for the CDU. He said the coalition was determined to meet the “historic challenges” facing Germany and linked its survival to the country’s “democratic future”.
The chancellor rejected claims that his personal approval ratings alone explained the results, saying the causes extended “far beyond my own person”. The CDU had suffered another major setback in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks earlier, where the AfD recorded a major victory.
The results have intensified speculation about a possible mid-term “chancellor swap”. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told the BBC that Merz would leave office “pretty soon”, but no leadership change has been confirmed.
