The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the state election in northeast Germany on Sunday, emerging as the strongest party with approximately 38% of the vote. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) saw its share drop to 4.9% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, failing to cross the 5% threshold required to enter the regional parliament. This marks the first time since 1949 that the CDU has failed to gain seats in a state legislature. Simultaneously, the far-left Die Linke party took first place in Berlin with 25.7% of the vote, driven by a campaign to move roughly 240,000 private apartments into public ownership.

Chancellor Merz described the regional outcomes as a "disaster" but vowed to remain in office and proceed with his economic reform agenda, securing the backing of CDU party leaders on Monday. The AfD, which also won a record 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago, has advocated for ending support for Ukraine and restoring access to Russian gas. In Berlin, Die Linke candidate Elif Eralp, a lawyer of Turkish origin, is now poised to potentially become the city's first mayor from a migrant background.