Far-right AfD tops second state poll in Germany, chancellor Friedrich Merz faces uncertain future

Friedrich Merz’s demeanour was grim as he stepped before the cameras on Sunday evening to address his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party after two more disappointing state election results. Following what the German chancellor had called the CDU’s “worst defeat in many years” in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago, Merz described the result of Sunday’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election as a “disaster”.

His party won just 4.9% of the vote in the largely rural, eastern, coastal state. This means that, for the first time, it fell short of the 5% threshold needed for entering a state parliament.

The Christian Democratic Union found itself squeezed in a contest between the minister-president of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Manuela Schwesig, and the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). As in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD topped the poll but fell short of a majority.

Schwesig’s campaign was criticised for trying to unite all voters opposed to the AfD behind her and thus harming the chances of other parties. But complaining about political opponents trying to win over your supporters is hardly a compelling argument for the CDU.

In Berlin, the evening got worse for Merz. Exit polls suggested the party was on course for 20% there, but in the final count it slipped back to 18.8%. This represents a loss of 9.5 percentage points...

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