German far-right election win threatens Merz's position, DW warns
Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany (Photo: Getty Images)
The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the elections to the parliament of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, receiving about 38% of the votes. The election results in two states could affect the political future of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Deutsche Welle.
The far-right party took first place with approximately 33–38% of the votes - different sources provide slightly different figures due to the unofficial stage of counting. The Social Democrats came in second, gaining about 35%.
The Left Party and the Greens also crossed the 5% threshold required to enter parliament, while Merz's conservative party and the left-populist alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht are hovering on the edge of passing it.
In the capital, the Left Party is leading with about a quarter of the votes. Merz's conservatives are in second place, while the far-right party is only in third position with approximately 16%. The Wagenknecht Alliance is not expected to enter parliament.
Two weeks earlier, the same far-right party achieved a convincing victory in the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, gaining almost 44% - the conservatives then lost nearly half of their support compared to previous elections.
These elections conclude a series of votes in the eastern part of the country that directly concern the Chancellor's political future.
Media outlets are already discussing the possible replacement of Merz with another politician without early elections - in the evening on election day, he convened the party leadership to ask directly whether they support him in his position or not. Among the potential successors, the head of the most populous federal state is most frequently mentioned.
On September 7, it became known that the far-right AfD in Saxony-Anhalt - according to Merz, such a development is a serious shock for Germany.
Moreover, the Chancellor warned that this could affect support for Ukraine and Western policy, noting that the unexpected victory of the AfD would delight the team of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
And former Ukrainian Consul General in Munich, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Free University Dmytro Shevchenko, noted that the AfD's victory in local elections could eventually affect aid to Ukraine and Ukrainians in Germany.
