Kommentar: Merz darf sich nicht in die Tasche lügen – es ist auch seine Niederlage
Für den Kanzler ist der Wahlsieg der AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt schmerzhaft. Die Welt geht dadurch trotzdem nicht unter. Aber wenn die Partei schwächer werden soll, muss sich die Koalition neu erfinden.
Friedrich Merz's campaign in Sachsen-Anhalt is a disaster, with no doubt. The AfD emerged as the clear victor, and regardless of whether Ulrich Siegmund’s ambition to become the first AfD Minister-President of a federal state materializes or not, Chancellor and CDU leader face challenging weeks ahead. If Merz attempts to attribute the results to a mere bureaucratic mishap, he deceives himself.
The CDU, as customary, sent its general secretary into the media spotlight. She appeared visibly shocked and stated in her initial statement, "The outcome affects us as Christian Democrats too." It was unclear whether she was referring to the Chancellor, but even without Merz on the ballot, the devastating defeat of Minister-President Sven Schulze is also his defeat, fundamentally a reckoning with Berlin politics.
Sixty-seven percent of the 76 percent of voters surveyed by Civey in Sachsen-Anhalt before the election said they expected a strong showing by the AfD in the region to significantly alter politics at the federal level.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
