German chancellor Merz vows to stay in office amid ‘disaster’ after double election blow with far-left AND far-right win

GERMANY’s chancellor has vowed to stay in office – despite describing the elections as as a “disaster” for his party. Friedrich Merz, leader of Christian Democratic Union (CDU), responded to the projected losses in two state elections to both far-left and far-right parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the recent results a “disaster” Credit: Getty The AfD have grown significantly in popularity across Germany Credit: Getty Merz said: “Trust in our country’s institutions is waning and is being actively undermined by radical parties on both the left and the right.” In the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, preliminary results indicated that the CDU would just about creep over the 5 per cent threshold to enter the state’s parliament. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! However, exit polls suggest the party has missed the threshold in its worst-ever state score, with far-right group The Alternative for Germany (AfD) securing the most votes instead. In Berlin, the ruling CDU are expected to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left). Merz called the recent results a “disaster” as he promises to continue fighting for economic changes in Germany. He faces intensifying scrutiny amid poor approval ratings and rumours of being replaced in a mid-term “chancellor swap”. The CDU suffered devastating losses at two recent state electons Credit: AFP The Executive Board of The Left react to the announcement of the preliminary election results for the far right fraction AfD Credit: Getty Speaking on state election night on Sunday, he said that he would move forward with his coalition government’s plans to push through a bill of economic, tax and welfare reforms. He said: “The reforms have to come. I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward. Most read in The Sun “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness and patience. “I will demonstrate this as CDU party chairman and, above all, as chancellor of our country. “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.” AfD’s national co-leader Alice Weidel said: “We are the strongest force and have reached the mainstream of the population.” The party’s other co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, gleefully mocked Merz, saying voters had given his own party a “very clear result”. Chrupalla also called on the chancellor to resign. Earlier this month, the AfD won a staggering 43.8 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, in a historic state election. This saw CDU suffer a horrible loss as their vote was cut in half. Merz is expected to lose leadership of the CDU party due to terrible election results, which would automatically stop him from running for Chancellor again in 2029. His decline in popularity has created a sense of instability in Germany. Known as Europe’s top economic powerhouse, the country has been riddled with issues of deindustrialisation, sluggish growth and rising energy costs. Many speculate that if Merz leaves office early, it would give momentum to other far right parties across Europe. It comes as France, Italy, Spain and Poland are all expected to hold elections next year with nationalist parties growing in popularity. Comment now