#Cdu

In the elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin, the far-right AfD took first place, while Merz's conservatives posted a weak result. Experts are debating the Chancellor's future.

Exit polls on 21 September recorded the AfD's second consecutive victory in German state elections: 37% in Mecklenburg and 16% in Berlin. Chancellor Merz called the results a 'catastrophe' for the CDU, which may fail to clear the five-percent threshold.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cancelled his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York, citing the need to be present in Berlin. The reason is a growing split within the CDU against the backdrop of the party's weak results.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt the most serious CDU defeat in decades and warned of the consequences for support of Ukraine.

According to an ARD forecast, the AfD polls 44.2% in the Saxony-Anhalt elections, while Chancellor Merz's CDU gets just 18.5%, down from 37.1% in 2021. The party claims a historic first standalone control of the state, but the outcome depends on the distribution of mandates.