Election Day of Extremes

A Fateful Day for Chancellor Merz ++ Mosque Serves as Polling Place

Election Day of extremes in Germany: In Berlin, Die Linke is now reaching for power (left); in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD comes in first (right). And Chancellor Friedrich Merz is left facing a shambles.(Bild: Krone-Collage/AFP/JENS SCHLUETER, EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE, AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

State elections took place on Sunday in the German states of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. And it was an election day of extremes: The Left won in the capital, while the AfD triumphed in the northeast. For the CDU, however, it was two resounding defeats, one of which reached historic proportions. Read the live updates below.

The preliminary final results in detail:

A day of extremes in Germany: In Berlin, The Left is now reaching for power (left), while in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD came in first (right). And Chancellor Friedrich Merz is left facing a shambles.(Bild: Krone-Collage/AFP/JENS SCHLUETER, EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE, AFP/RALF HIRSCHBERGER)

The most important events in a nutshell:

• In Berlin, Die Linke clearly takes first place. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, however, the AfD replaces the SPD as the strongest party.
• The CDU is in shock: In Berlin, it slips to second place; in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it fails to clear the five-percent threshold and is excluded from a state parliament for the first time in its history.
• Friedrich Merz says he takes responsibility for the results but wants to continue as chancellor and CDU leader.
• FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl has congratulated the AfD on its strong showing and has made a clear statement regarding Austria’s political future.  
• “The People’s Party is just a shadow of its former self,” writes “Krone” editor Clemens Zavarsky in his commentary on the CDU. 

• Elif Eralp (45) could become Berlin’s first left-wing head of government—and the first with Turkish roots.

The election ticker to read:

Merz Wants to Stay On
Despite the latest debacle (the CDU had already been severely punished by voters in Saxony-Anhalt ), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to stay on. “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience. I will demonstrate these qualities as CDU chairman and chancellor of this country,” he said just a few minutes after the first election projections were released. At that point, however, he did not yet know that his party would fail to clear the five-percent threshold in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz(Bild: EPA/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE)

Poor poll numbers and his CDU’s heavy defeat in the state of Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago have put Merz under intense pressure within his own party. For days, there has been speculation in Germany about whether he can hold on to his position. Merz had summoned the CDU executive committee to party headquarters on election night to secure their backing.

Left-wing coalitions likely in both states
In both states, the results now point to left-wing coalitions. In Berlin, the Greens have already spoken out in favor of a three-party red-red-green coalition. There, the SPD has so far been the junior partner in a grand coalition with the CDU. Should the left-wing coalition come to fruition, the German capital would have its first mayor of Turkish descent inElif Eralp.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, both SPD Governor Schwesig and AfD lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm claimed the mandate to govern on election night. However, the balance of power is now shifting due to the CDU’s absence from the state parliament. Since no one wants to govern with the AfD, Schwesig will almost certainly remain in office. However, only a red-red-green coalition can secure a stable majority. “The majority has chosen democratic parties. That is why I am ready to continue the work,” said Schwesig. She is ready for a stable democratic government. Sixty percent of citizens want her to continue the work.

Weidel Demands “Consequences” from Merz
Meanwhile, AfD leader Alice Weidel called on Merz to draw consequences from the election debacle. She argued that one reason the CDU had become so weak in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, and at the federal level was that it had been supplanted by the AfD as a people’s party. “And at the federal level, that actually means quite clearly: Friedrich Merz must face the consequences. He must do so for his party and also for Germany.” The goal of the right-wing populist AfD is to engage in coalition talks with the CDU in the long term. Weidel criticized the CDU’s “firewall” strategy against the AfD. The result, she said, is that the Left is now the strongest force in Berlin.