German far-right AfD set for second state win in massive blow to Merz

Berlin [Germany], September 21: The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is poised for a second state election win just two weeks after its landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt, projections showed on Sunday, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative party set for its worst-ever showing in its 81-year history.
The votes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin are a fresh humiliation for Merz, whose political future has been the source of intense speculation as his approval ratings have plummeted in recent months. Projections by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) just above the 5% threshold needed to enter the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament, putting the party on course to fall well below its previous record low of 9% in Bremen in 1951.
The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD, on the other hand, made major gains, and looked set to narrowly win its second state this month after falling just short of an absolute majority in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Merz: 'A disaster'
Merz admitted the result was a "disaster" but insisted he would push forward with his government's unpopular economic and social reform package, signalling he does not intend to resign.
Merz has faced immense pressure on his leadership for months due to stalling efforts to revive the struggling economy, while he has also failed to make good on his promise to halve support for the AfD, which became the biggest opposition party in last year's national election.
Merz conceded that it was not possible to "sugar-coat" Sunday's result, but vowed to "to prepare our country for the future." "What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience. I will muster these qualities - as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country."
The AfD is projected to finish top in the rural north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with around 37% to 38% of the vote, more than double its share since the last election in 2021.
The party was just ahead of the governing Social Democrats (SPD), whose late boost in support under state premier Manuela Schwesig appeared to have fallen just short, with the party projected at around 36%.
In Berlin, Merz's conservatives lost their hold of the city-state's mayor's office, with The Left - a successor to the socialist party that governed the former East Germany - well ahead on around 25% to the CDU's 20%.
Source: Qatar Tribune