Germany’s far-right AfD projected to win another state victory, as Merz’s CDU plunges

Germany’s Alternative for Germany is projected to win the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU faces a historic collapse, according to exit polls.

The AfD is projected to take 38 percent of the vote in the north-eastern state, according to an exit poll from Germany’s public broadcaster. The Social Democratic Party is close behind at 36.5 percent.

Merz’s Christian Democratic Union is projected to receive just five percent, barely enough to enter the state parliament. Merz described the result as a “disaster”.

“The answer cannot be to go back to the good old days,” Merz said, arguing Germany needed reforms to address economic challenges and political divisions.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told CNN her party was “clearly the new people’s party in Germany.”

“We have overtaken the CDU, and people want a change of policy,” she said.

The projected victory comes two weeks after the AfD won 44 percent in Saxony-Anhalt.

In a separate election in Berlin, the left-wing Die Linke is projected to finish first with 26 percent, followed by the CDU and Greens.

The AfD is projected to take 13.5 percent, up from 9.1 percent in Berlin’s 2023 election.