&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Chancellor Friedrich Merz vows to stay on as exit polls signal major poll setback")
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay on even though exit polls in two local elections indicated damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. The party was projected to only just scrape into parliament in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, while the AfD was on track to win the most votes. Merz called the exit poll result “a disaster” for his party.
Even in Berlin, the ruling CDU was expected to be defeated by Die Linke (The Left).
Merz is under increasing pressure amid poor approval ratings and rumours swirling that he could even be replaced mid-term in a so-called chancellor swap.
Voting took place on Sunday, a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a major victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Merz told reporters on Sunday that he would forge ahead with his coalition government’s plans to push through a package of economic, tax and welfare reforms.
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“The reforms have to come. I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward,” he insisted.
“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.
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According to public broadcaster ZDF, the AfD was projected to take 38% of the vote share in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It was followed in second place by the centre-left SPD, on 36%.
However, the AfD is unlikely to govern in the state as other parties refuse to work with it.
For Berlin, the broadcaster put the CDU on 20% of the vote share when polls closed, behind Die Linke on nearly 26%.
There had been severe speculation in Germany that Merz could be replaced unless his party’s sagging political fortunes uplifted. Merz has only held the post for 16 months.
