German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called a local election defeat for his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a “disaster” but vowed to remain in post BBC.
In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU fell short of a 5% threshold to enter parliament, underperforming against what had already been projected to be the party’s worst ever result in the area.
Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was on track to win the most votes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but it is unlikely to govern as other parties refuse to work with it.
Meanwhile in Berlin, the ruling CDU was on course to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left).
Merz is under mounting pressure after months of poor approval ratings, and there have been rumours he could be replaced mid-term in a so-called chancellor swap.
The two local elections took place on Sunday, a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD won a major victory.
Echoing comments he made after that defeat, Merz told reporters at the party’s Berlin headquarters on Sunday that he would forge ahead with his coalition government’s plans to push through a package of economic, tax and welfare reforms.
“The reforms have to come,” he insisted. “I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward”.
“What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience,” Merz said. “I will demonstrate this as CDU party chairman and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”
“I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, with the fascination of authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society,” Merz added.
The AfD’s national co-leader Alice Weidel said: “We are the strongest force and have reached the mainstream of the population.”
Some branches of the populist AfD are classed as right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence, a designation it strongly rejects.
But its anti-immigration, German-first, and Russian-friendly agenda has found fertile ground in the country’s former communist east.
Reuters More than a dozen CDU supporters dressed in formal wear are seen with neutral expressions looking at screens. A woman in the front folds her arms, while another holds onto the arm of the woman next to her.Reuters
There was a muted response to exit polls at the CDU’s election night gathering in Berlin
The CDU leader quickly went on the offensive, declaring that he is going nowhere.
Merz has long coveted the top job in German politics, and likely won’t give it up easily.
Polls for both states closed at 18:00 local time (17:00 BST), with a final result expected later on Sunday night, or even Monday morning.
Public broadcasters ZDF and ARD put the AfD slightly ahead in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the CDU has likely posted its worst result in any state since World War Two.
The AfD was projected to take 38% of the vote share in the state, followed in second place by the centre-left SPD, on 35%.
For Berlin, the broadcasters put the CDU on 19% of the vote share, behind Die Linke – which has never topped polls in the capital before – on nearly 26%.
The AfD also looks set to increase its vote in Berlin, with a projected 16% of the vote.
Prior to Sunday’s elections, there had been intense speculation in Germany that Merz could be replaced unless his party’s political fortunes improved.
Earlier this week, the leaders of eight German states backed Merz, who has only been chancellor for 16 months.
On Sunday, Burkard Dregger from the CDU in Berlin, told the BBC it was right that Merz should stay on. “He has a lot of work to do and we don’t have time to waste to form new government in the federal level”.
He described the electorate as “impatient”, adding that it was “not realistic to expect that every issue has been solved within one year.
“He has got four years and we have to give him the four years,” Dregger said.
While his backers have argued that many of the problems the nation faces are inherited, Merz himself is deeply unpopular.
The former corporate lawyer’s tack to the right on issues like immigration has failed to erode AfD support, while also alienating people further to the left.