Sound defeat for the Conservatives in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern elections, with the Left leading in Berlin

Berlin, 20 Sep (KUNA) -- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a major defeat in the state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, recording its worst result since its founding, while the Left Party clearly led the results in the Berlin House of Representatives elections.

According to preliminary estimates from the first (ARD) and second (ZDF) television channels, the far-right party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), topped the results in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election with approximately 37 percent, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with around 35 percent, while the Christian Democratic Union fell to about 5 percent.

The Greens and the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance also faced the risk of failing to cross the parliamentary threshold of at least 5 percent, while the Liberal Party was excluded from parliament.

In Berlin, the Left Party secured approximately 25 percent, compared to 20 percent for the Christian Democratic Union and 12 percent for the Social Democratic Party.

Consequently, the governing coalition between the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party loses its majority, while a three-party coalition government comprising the Left, the Greens, and the Social Democrats appears to be one of the options on the table.

The results place Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union leader Merz under increasing political pressure following his party's defeat in the state of Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago.

The housing crisis and rising rents were the most prominent issues in the Berlin election campaign, alongside security, while the Alternative for Germany party focused particularly on migration.

Following the announcement of the preliminary results, German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union leader Merz described his party's performance in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election as "catastrophic," emphasizing that the result cannot be beautified or the magnitude of the loss downplayed.

In a brief statement broadcast by the first television channel (ARD), he said the party had done its best during the election campaign but ultimately lost amid the increasing polarization between the Social Democratic Party and the Alternative for Germany party.

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