Merz insists he will stay as German chancellor despite heavy losses in state elections – Europe live
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to remain in office despite his CDU party suffering significant losses in recent state elections. The CDU failed to enter the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament for the first time in 77 years, securing only 4.9% of the vote. Meanwhile, the far-right AfD party doubled its support to become the largest party in the region with 38% of the vote.
- ▪Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated he will continue his government's reforms despite calling the election results a disaster.
- ▪The CDU failed to enter the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament, a first occurrence in 77 years.
- ▪The CDU received only 4.9% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, losing more than half of its previous support.
- ▪The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gained 38% of the vote, doubling its share to become the largest party in the state.
4 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 25 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ Why Merz is staying on as German chancellor after election 'disaster' — BBC News — Politics
- ▪ German Chancellor Merz vows to stay on despite 'disaster' state election exit polls — BBC News — World
- ▪ German elections under way which could decide fate of Chancellor Merz — BBC News
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — World |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/sep/21/merz-german-chancellor-state-elections-russia-ukraine-europe-live-latest-news |
| Publication time | Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:49:26 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-21T08:58:47.886Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-21T08:58:47.886Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
8m ago04.49 EDTOpening summaryGood morning and welcome to our Europe live blog, where we’ll start in Germany after a bruising night for Friedrich Merz’s party.The German chancellor is staring down pressure over his leadership and authority after the CDU suffered heavy losses in two regional elections. For the first time in 77 years, it’s failed to enter a state parliament, in the former East German state of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern. This was the home state of former CDU chancellor Angela Merkel; the party there last night pulled just 4.9% of the vote, losing more than half of its support.Many of its voters have flocked to Alternative for Germany (AfD). The far-right, anti-migrant party gained 38% of the vote, doubling its share to now become the largest party in the state.
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