German state elections: Chancellor Friedrich Merz vows to stay on despite ‘disaster’ in polls– www.bbc.co.uk
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EXCERPT:
Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay on despite exit polls in two local elections suggesting damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.
In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party was initially projected to scrape through with its worst ever election result. But a few hours later, it dipped below the 5% threshold needed to stay in parliament. Merz called it “a disaster” for his party.
Meanwhile the far-right AfD was on track to win the most votes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but it is unlikely to govern as other parties refuse to work with it.
In Berlin, the ruling CDU was expected to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left).
Merz is under mounting pressure, with poor approval ratings and rumours he could even be replaced mid-term in a so-called chancellor swap.
Votes took place on Sunday, a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a major victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
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