Five takeaways from Germany’s regional elections

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel (third from left), along with (from left) AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla, AfD candidate for state premier Leif-Erik Holm, and AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund, react on stage during a campaign event ahead of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election in Neubrandenburg, Germany, on Sept. 18. | REUTERS

REUTERS

Sep 21, 2026

BERLIN/FRANKFURT – Elections in two German states on Sunday resulted in severe losses for the country’s leading Christian Democrats, whose Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing pressure to keep the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party at bay.

Here are five takeaways from regional elections in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Germany’s capital, Berlin.

The results mark a major setback for Merz and his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, whose voters have flocked to the AfD, increasingly doubtful the 70-year-old can revive Germany’s economy and bring down the cost of living.

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