CDU Suffers Setbacks in Berlin, Mecklenburg Elections

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union suffered major setbacks in Sunday’s state elections, winning only 5.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, barely above the threshold for entering the regional parliament. The far-right Alternative for Germany led there with 37%, ahead of the governing Social Democrats at 35.5%. In Berlin, exit polls put Die Linke at 24.5% and the CDU at 20%, leaving coalition negotiations necessary because no party is expected to win a majority. The results represent a sharp reversal from Berlin’s 2023 election, when the CDU won 28.2% and Die Linke received 12.2%, and follow the AfD’s recent victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Merz called the CDU’s performance a “disaster” but said he would remain party leader and continue pursuing his economic and social reform agenda; former Chancellor Angela Merkel voted by mail.