German exit polls show Merz’s party suffering heavy losses in 2 German state elections
Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union is projected to fall to 5.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. That would be its worst result there since World War II.the CDU is projected to come in second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to the exit poll by public broadcaster ARD
Published on 20/09/2026 - 18:34 GMT+2
Exit polls showed Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party suffering heavy losses in two German state elections on Sunday.
Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union is projected to fall to 5.5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a largely rural state in Germany’s formerly communist east. That would be its worst result there since World War II.
In Berlin, the CDU is projected to come in second with 20%, behind the Left party at 24.5%, according to the exit poll by public broadcaster ARD.
Alternative for Germany party made significant gains in both elections Sunday. The vote came two weeks after AfD finished just short of a majority in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, and has its best chance yet of forming the country’s first far-right regional government since World War II.
Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago with promises to turn around an economy thathas barely grown in years, but has failed to lift a sullen national mood and has himself become deeply unpopular.
The strong showing of AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt election has further weakened the chancellor's standing on the national level as well, and in the past two weeks there have been calls even from within his own party to replace him as chancellor. 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.
Speaking after the exit polls, Merz says that he'll stay as leader of the CDU and Chancellor until the end if his term.
