That result comes on the heels of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, where the far-right won so convincingly that it could now govern a German state for the first time since the 1940s. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the SPD should have enough support to form a coalition and prevent the AfD from governing the state, but the results for Merz’s Christian Democratic Union were catastrophic. He won just 5.5% of the vote, according to the exit poll, the worst result for his party in any regional or national election since the end of the Second World War. “We cannot sugarcoat the results in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is a disaster. The CDU fought hard but was ultimately crushed in the escalating confrontation between the SPD and the AfD,” Merz said after the exit polls. While the CDU’s unpopularity has sparked discussion of a Kanzlertausch – or chancellor exchange – Merz responded to his party’s regional defeat by doubling down on his promise to deliver on a reform agenda. “Germany is capable of reforms. I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the poison of authoritarianism,” he said. “What needs to be done now requires courage, firmness and patience. I will demonstrate these qualities as president of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.” Merz has staked his chancellorship on tackling economic and welfare reforms that previous governments deemed too politically difficult, even calling himself a “reformist chancellor.” His agenda includes raising the retirement age to shore up the pension system, cutting some health insurance benefits to curb rising premiums and making it harder for workers to take sick leave in an effort to boost growth. In Berlin, Die Linke or the left-wing party is on track to finish first with 24.5%, according to the ARD exit poll, ahead of Merz’s CDU with 20%, which currently controls the capital’s mayoralty.
