German Chancellor Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after calling CDU’s historic state election defeat a ‘disaster’

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a bruising electoral setback in two state elections on Sunday, including a historic defeat for his party, but vowed to press ahead with potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy.Exit polls by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, came in with just 5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — the lowest result ever since World War II for the party in any state. The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party made significant gains Sunday.Merz acknowledged his party's result as a “disaster,” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less so, and pledged to press ahead.“What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience,” Merz said in a statement shortly after the exit polls were announced on public television.

“I will demonstrate these qualities as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”In Berlin, the CDU was projected to come in second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to ARD's exit poll.Merz’s authority was already damaged by CDU's stinging defeat to AfD in the Sept. 6 election in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. That result shocked many Germans who had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws to outlaw persecution.On Sunday, AfD was projected to make big gains in both states.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it garnered 37% of the vote, and in Berlin it achieved 15.7%, according to ARD. But it was nowhere close to being able to form a regional government.AfD’s national co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, told ZDF television that “the chancellor’s statement today really was more than feeble — he announced that he’d carry on as before, instead of finally drawing the consequences and resigning.”However, in an apparent reference to the far-right party, Merz said that his government’s reforms would be “the antidote to the poison of authoritarianism, which is penetrating ever deeper into our society as the fascination with authoritarianism g… Exit polls by public broadcaster ARD indicated that Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union came in with just 5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — the lowest result ever since World War II for the party in any state.

Exit polls show damaging losses for Merz's centre-right CDU party in the states of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made significant gains Sunday.Merz acknowledged his party's result as a “disaster” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda. In the past two weeks there have been calls even from within his own party to replace him as chancellor, although no top-level allies have called publicly for his departure, and many have warned against “personnel debates.”Apparently anticipating a tough postelection period, Merz a…

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after calling CDU’s historic state election defeat a ‘disaster.’ Source