Commentary: Merz mustn't kid himself – it's also his defeat
For the Chancellor, the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt is painful. Nevertheless, the world won't come to an end because of it. But if the party is to become weaker, the coalition must reinvent itself.
Friedrich Merz faces a challenging period ahead after the election in Sachsen-Anhalt, where the AfD emerged as the clear winner. The CDU suffered a significant defeat, with Ministerpräsident Sven Schulze also experiencing a personal loss. The outcome was a rebuke to the Berlin politics, with many voters expecting the AfD's strong performance to impact federal policy. 76 percent of those surveyed by Civey in Sachsen-Anhalt anticipated that a strong AfD showing would have a noticeable effect on national politics.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
