The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took first place in state elections in northeastern Germany on Sunday, voting projections showed, delivering the worst result for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's mainstream conservative party since 1949.
“It's a disaster,” Merz said after exit polls were published, although he signalled he would fight on as chancellor and continue his reform agenda after speculation that a bad result could prompt him to resign.
The AfD was set to win 38.3 per cent in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) at 35.4 per cent, according to projections on ARD public television. Both parties were far ahead of Merz’s conservatives, who at the latest count had fallen to 4.9 per cent, below the 5 per cent threshold needed to enter the state parliament and indicating they may be excluded altogether.
Sunday's result has given the AfD its second top-place finish this month at the state level. The party leads in national opinion polls but has been kept from power by the other main parties' refusal to work with it.
In another election on Sunday in the capital Berlin, the far-left Linke party was at 25.3 per cent while the vote share of Merz’s conservatives, who currently govern the state in a coalition with the Social Democrats, tumbled to 19 per cent.
The AfD also gained in strength in the typically liberal city, hitting 16.3 per cent. It is the first time Linke has topped polls in the state, where it wants to nationalise housing from corporate landlords and cap rents.
Elected last year on a promise of reforms to return Germany's stagnant economy to growth, Merz has struggled to win over voters, as a stream of communication missteps served to compound resentment over unpopular pension, tax and healthcare reforms.
Disillusion with his government has hung over the campaigns in both Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, where voters have focused on soaring energy and housing costs. Merz presented a consumer relief package on Friday that included tax cuts on gas and diesel.
Several people who voted in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said living costs were a major concern.
“Here in Schwerin, with these wages, you can hardly afford anything anymore,” voter Carlotta Heick told Reuters in the state capital.
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