Merz Faces Pressure After CDU Falls Below 5% in 77-Year First as SPD Questions Reforms
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Sep 21
Merz Faces Pressure After CDU Falls Below 5% in 77-Year First as SPD Questions Reforms
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Sep 21
Summary
CDU fell below the 5% threshold in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, losing all seats there for the first time in 77 years and deepening pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz after another regional setback in Berlin.
AfD finished first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the SPD ran close behind by centering Governor Manuela Schwesig as a bulwark against the far right, a squeeze that hit the CDU and other mainstream parties.
SPD leaders in Merz’s federal coalition said they still back the government but want changes to his reform agenda, especially the pension overhaul, with Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil warning the coalition cannot ignore three state-election rebukes.
Merz vowed to stay on and met party leaders Monday, but his authority has been weakened by three straight state-election defeats; five more votes are due next year, including in North Rhine-Westphalia.