German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to press ahead with structural reforms on Sunday, September 20, 2026, defying calls to step down after his Christian Democratic Union suffered a defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, coming in with just 5% of the vote.
Election Disaster in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed he plans to stay in office despite severe electoral losses on Sunday, September 20, 2026. Exit polls broadcast by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that the center-right Christian Democratic Union captured only 5% of the vote 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 party made significant gains Sunday.
Simultaneous voting in Berlin saw the CDU projected to come in second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to ARD’s exit poll. Merz acknowledged the CDU’s result as a “disaster” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda while speaking to media at the Christian Democratic Union party headquarters in Berlin, Germany. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less, and pledged to press ahead with backbone, steadfastness and patience.
The twin state results compounded political friction for the chancellor, whose authority was already damaged by a stinging defeat two weeks prior.
Saxony-Anhalt Milestone and the Firewall Test
The current political turbulence follows an election on September 6, 2026, in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the anti-immigrant, pro-Russia Alternative for Germany surged into first place. The AfD won nearly 44% of the vote, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among Germany’s neighbours, France and Poland, and elsewhere. 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.
The party fell short of an absolute majority in the state legislature, winning 39 of the 83 seats, and hopes to poach individual conservative lawmakers. The election result could test the longstanding refusal of Germany’s mainstream parties, including Merz’s Christian Democrats, to work with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall.” The AfD says this is undemocratic. The AfD is appealing to lawmakers from Merz’s conservatives to support its bid to rule the eastern state, in what would be the first time a far-right party takes power at state level in postwar Germany.
The AfD’s national co-leader Tino Chrupalla appealed to CDU lawmakers to make a centre-right conservative majority
in Saxony-Anhalt possible. Tino Chrupalla stated that partisan games really ought to be a thing of the past when speaking to German radio, referring to the firewall policy. Saxony-Anhalt is a relatively small state, and one of the poorest in Germany’s former communist east, but Alice Weidel, the AfD’s other national co-leader, hailed Sunday’s result as a milestone.
Friedrich Merz stated that this shakes his party to its very foundations, according to the Bild newspaper. We are all deeply shocked,
he added later at a press conference, describing the result as his party’s worst election result in decades.
Friedrich Merz, Chancellor, via Bild
Defiant Stance on Economic and Security Reforms
Merz struck a defiant note following the latest setbacks, rejecting any retreat from his administration’s legislative agenda. While sounding chastened, and vowing to try harder to connect with voters, Merz batted away suggestions that he might resign, saying he would broadly stick with his government’s reform agenda. Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago with promises to turn around an economy that has barely grown in years, but has failed to lift a sullen national mood and has himself become deeply unpopular. 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 abandoned a planned trip to New York next week to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Despite the strong headwinds, he has repeatedly said that he’s determined to stay on and finish his term as chancellor.
Friedrich Merz asserted that giving up is not an option for him.
Friedrich Merz, Chancellor
Geopolitical Divergence and Foreign Policy Stakes
Suggesting that the AfD win was cheered in Moscow, Merz characterised the current political moment as a fight for the survival of Western values. He also defended a decision, taken last year, to borrow hundreds of billions of euros to spend on defence, saying the unity of the NATO alliance was at stake. The only German party that has signalled readiness to work with the AfD is the populist left-wing BSW. The BSW shares the AfD’s hostility towards mass immigration, which it says undermines local workers’ rights, and also advocates for ending Germany’s support for Ukraine and restoring ties with Moscow. Both parties characterise sanctions on Russia as needlessly self-sabotaging, denying German businesses access to Russia’s vast cheap energy resources on which Germany’s export-driven economy was able to thrive for decades.
Peace in Europe
was the second biggest factor driving which way people voted in Saxony-Anhalt, according to numbers from the ARD broadcaster. Merz defended a decision, taken last year, to borrow hundreds of billions of euros to spend on defence, saying the unity of the NATO alliance was at stake.
Friedrich Merz declared that he will not deviate by even a millimetre from his fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom, especially now, against Russia.
Friedrich Merz, Chancellor
What Lies Ahead for the Federal Government
Merz faces more state elections in the coming weeks and into next year, though he hopes his mix of reforms and higher spending in some areas will revive growth in Europe’s largest economy. The strong showing of AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt election, where it has best chance yet of forming the country’s first far-right regional government since World War II, has further weakened the chancellor’s standing on the national level as well. According to a breakdown of voters, the AfD was particularly popular among men, with 50% voting for the party compared to 39% of women, and AfD voters also tended to be less economically secure and less educated.
