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8h ago

AfD Tops Another State as CDU Collapses and Merz Faces Renewed Pressure

Exit polls point to strong far‑right and far‑left gains that signal voter anger on the economy and could obstruct Chancellor Friedrich Merz's reform plans.

Hendrik Wüst, governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, speaks onstage during the 2026 Digital X at Rheinauhafen on September 8, in Cologne, Germany.
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Overview

  • Exit polls on Sept. 20 showed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) leading Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania with about 37–38 percent.
  • Those same polls put the CDU near the 5 percent parliamentary threshold in Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania, a result that would be the party's worst in postwar state elections.
  • In Berlin, exit polling projected Die Linke in first place with roughly 25–26 percent while the AfD rose into the mid‑teens compared with 2023.
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the night a "disaster," said he will stay to press reforms, and is facing growing internal pressure over his leadership and the coalition's unity.
  • The results build on the AfD's Sept. 6 breakthrough in Saxony‑Anhalt and show economic and housing anger pushing voters to both extremes even as mainstream parties continue to refuse coalitions with the AfD.