"Catastrophe." Merz's Party Fails to Enter Parliament in Vorpommern

In Germany, voting took place yesterday in two regional elections — in Berlin and in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The rising "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party achieved another success. At the same time, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to the election commission, failed to overcome the 5 percent threshold required to gain seats in the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, writes the BBC.

The CDU had never before achieved such a low result in either state or federal elections.

According to the German news agency dpa, citing data from the election commission of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD won the elections to the local state parliament, gaining about 38.2% of the votes and surpassing the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which received 35.5%.

Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) received only 4.9% of the votes. This means that the CDU does not overcome the 5% threshold required to obtain seats in parliament.

As dpa writes, the CDU, which for a long time remained the largest party in post-war Germany, had never before fallen below the 5% threshold in state, European, or federal elections. The party's previous anti-record of 9% of votes was recorded in Bremen in 1951.

In Berlin, the radical left party Die Linke ("The Left") receives about 25% of the votes, while the CDU, which until recently headed the regional coalition, comes in second with 20%. But here too, as exit polls show, the AfD takes third place with 16% of the votes.

In a speech immediately after the closing of polling stations, Chancellor Merz admitted that the elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were another blow for the Christian Democrats. "We cannot sweeten the results in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in any way, it's a catastrophe," he said.

"Faith in the institutions of our country is falling, and it is being actively undermined by radical parties on the right and left," stated the German leader.

According to Merz, he bears responsibility for this. However, rejecting increased calls to resign amid the CDU's failures and very low personal popularity ratings, he stated that he is ready to lead the country through new changes.

Living in the old way, according to him, is impossible. "Germany must become a country of new beginnings," Merz declared. What exactly the Chancellor means by changes is still unclear.

Manuela Schwesig, the head of the government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from the Social Democratic Party of Germany, believes that the AfD gained points by criticizing support for Ukraine and the German government's refusal of energy cooperation with Russia.

"Firstly, many people in our state are dissatisfied with the support for Ukraine — both financial and military. Secondly, many would like Nord Stream to work again," she said.

Given the continued refusal of German parties to cooperate with the AfD, it is unlikely that the high result in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will give the far-right real opportunities to govern this region.

However, Sunday's elections came two weeks after the almost unconditional victory of the AfD and the crushing defeat of the CDU in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, confirming a trend towards a historical turning point in German politics.

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