German polls show Merz’s party squeezed from far right and left

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats are under mounting pressure from both the far right and radical left ahead of upcoming regional elections, according to new polls published on Friday.

The two elections on Sept 20 come on the heels of a debacle for Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) romped to victory with 44% of the vote, the highest figure for a nationalist party since 1945.

In the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merz’s CDU slumped to just 7% in a new poll from public broadcaster ZDF.

That would be the party’s worst-ever showing in a regional election anywhere in the country and raises the prospect that the CDU might even fall beneath the 5% threshold required to take seats in a state parliament.

The poll put the AfD ahead with 37%, trailed closely by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) – which currently governs the state – with 34%.

The SPD, which nationally is Merz’s junior coalition partner, has faced a series of bruising electoral setbacks in the past two years and is hoping to hold onto one of its historic strongholds in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The poll put the far-left Die Linke, which is currently the SPD’s junior coalition partner in the state, in third at 10%.

If this poll is borne out at the ballot box, a three-way coalition between the SPD, Die Linke and the Greens would be the likely outcome, as the AfD lacks potential allies.

Almost every other political party in the country refuses to cooperate with the AfD in any way, with the far-right party seen as taboo over accusations of racism and ties to neo-Nazis.

In Berlin, the race for the mayoralty – currently held by the CDU in a coalition with the SPD, mirroring the national government – remains too close to call, though Merz’s CDU appears almost certain to lose ground.

In the ZDF poll, Die Linke holds a narrow lead over the CDU, with 23% against the CDU’s 21%.

They are followed by the AfD (17%), the Greens (16%), and the SPD (10%).

Merz’s conservatives generally loathe Die Linke, a party that evolved in part from remnants of the former communist East Germany’s ruling party.

Like in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the poll results in Berlin point towards a left-wing alliance of Die Linke, Greens and the SPD as the most likely coalition arrangement.

For Merz, a chancellor whose personal approval ratings already hover around record lows, a far-right victory in Mecklenburg and a far-left win in Berlin would represent further stinging setbacks.

There is growing chatter in Berlin that Merz’s own party might ditch the gaffe-prone chancellor, who has been mired in coalition infighting over his reform agenda.

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