'Disaster': Far-right and far-left gains in German state votes leaves Merz shaken

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has faced significant electoral setbacks in two state elections. His center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party suffered losses, with The Local Germany and NPR reporting that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made substantial gains.

According to the South China Morning Post, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU received a historically low 5% of the vote, while the AfD took first place. In Berlin, the CDU was projected to come in second with 20% of the vote, behind the Left party at 24.5%. Merz described his party's result as a "disaster" but vowed to continue with the government's reform agenda.

Merz has stated that he will stay in office and push forward with potentially painful reforms, citing the need for "backbone, steadfastness, and patience" to address Germany's economic and political problems, as reported by the South China Morning Post and RFI English.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local Germany, NPR, The Local Germany, South China Morning Post, RFI English — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.