Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay on despite exit polls in two local elections suggesting damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.
In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party was projected to only just scrape into parliament, while the AfD was on track to win the most votes. Merz called the result “a disaster” for his party.
In Berlin, the ruling CDU was also expected to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left).
Merz is under mounting pressure, with poor approval ratings and rumours he could even be replaced mid-term in a so-called chancellor swap.
Votes took place on Sunday, a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a major victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Echoing comments he made after that defeat, Merz told reporters on Sunday that he would forge ahead with his coalition government’s plans to push through a package of economic, tax and welfare reforms.
“The reforms have to come,” he insisted. “I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward”.
“I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, with the fascination of authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society,” Merz added.
As the projected results came up on the screen at the CDU’s election night gathering in Berlin, there were no cheers or celebration.
This is a party that knows it’s in trouble.
Friedrich Merz is going on the offensive, quickly declaring he is going nowhere.
He has long coveted the top job in German politics and likely won’t give it up easily.
Polls for both states closed at 18:00 local time (17:00 BST), with a final result expected in the coming hours.
According to public broadcaster ZDF, the AfD was projected to take 38% of the vote share in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It was followed in second place by the centre-left SPD, on 36%.
However, the AfD is unlikely to govern in the state as other parties refuse to work with it.
For Berlin, the broadcaster put the CDU on 20% of the vote share when polls closed, behind Die Linke on nearly 26%.
Prior to Sunday’s elections, there had been intense speculation in Germany that Merz could be replaced unless his party’s political fortunes improved.
Earlier this week, the leaders of eight German states backed Merz, who has only held the post for 16 months.
While his backers have argued that many of the problems the nation faces are inherited, Merz himself is deeply unpopular.
The former corporate lawyer’s tack to the right on issues like immigration has failed to erode AfD support while also alienating people further to the left.
