Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU party finished with 4.9% of the vote in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state election, falling short of the 5% requirement to enter parliament for the first time since World War II. The far-right AfD captured 38.3% of the vote to win the state, while the SPD followed closely at 35.4%. In Berlin, the far-left Die Linke finished first with 25.3% of the vote, surpassing the CDU result of 19%.

Merz described the regional outcomes as a catastrophe but refused to resign, stating that his role as federal chancellor requires "backbone, steadfastness and patience." The loss in Berlin may end the CDU's control of the mayor's office, which has been held by a CDU-SPD coalition since 2023. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the SPD is expected to build a coalition to prevent the AfD from governing despite the far-right party's victory.