CDU records lowest postwar state result as AfD makes gains

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he plans to remain in office after his center-right party suffered historic losses in two state elections, with the Christian Democratic Union projected at just 5% in one race — its lowest state result since World War II. Merz, who called the outcome a “disaster,” rejected any retreat from his government’s economic reform agenda.

The two defeats compound a stinging loss in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks earlier, where the anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany bested the CDU and now has its best chance yet of forming Germany’s first far-right regional government since World War II. Merz, 70, took office 16 months ago on pledges to turn around an economy that has barely grown in years but has failed to lift a “sullen national mood,” according to the AP, and has himself become deeply unpopular.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, exit polls from public broadcaster ARD projected the CDU at 5% — the lowest result in any state for the party since World War II. The AfD made significant gains in the vote, according to the AP.

In Berlin, ARD’s exit poll projected the Left party at 24.5%, ahead of the CDU at 20%. The result put the CDU in second place in the capital, another setback for Merz.

Merz struck a defiant note in his response. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less, and pledged to press ahead with “backbone, steadfastness and patience.”

His authority had already been damaged by the CDU’s defeat to the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt on Sept. 6 — a result that, according to the AP, 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 to outlaw persecution.

The AfD’s strong showing in Saxony-Anhalt, where it now has its best chance yet of forming Germany’s first far-right regional government since World War II, has further weakened the chancellor’s standing nationally.

In the past two weeks, there have been calls even from within his own party to replace Merz as chancellor, although no top-level allies have called publicly for his departure. Many in the CDU have warned against “personnel debates.”

Anticipating a difficult postelection period, Merz abandoned a planned trip to New York next week to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Despite the political headwinds, he has repeatedly said he is determined to stay on and finish his term as chancellor.