Merz Faces CDU Revolt After 4.9% State Collapse as AfD Wins With 38%
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 22
Merz Faces CDU Revolt After 4.9% State Collapse as AfD Wins With 38%
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 22
Summary
4.9% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania knocked the CDU out of a state parliament for the first time in postwar Germany, turning Friedrich Merz’s election-night “disaster” into an acute leadership crisis.
38% for the AfD there, versus 35.5% for the Social Democrats, underscored the far right’s momentum even though a cross-party firewall still blocks it from governing.
Berlin added to the damage: the CDU is set to lose city hall after a heavy defeat to Linke, despite Merz’s unusual televised pledge minutes after polls closed to press on with his recovery agenda.
17% in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks earlier had already fueled Kanzlertausch talk, and with Merz’s approval ratings dire, party anger is now focused on whether he can survive just 16 months into office.