Future of German chancellor hangs in the balance as two states go to polls

Friedrich Merz speaks on Thursday during the final CDU election rally prior to elections in Berlin. Friedrich Merz speaks on Thursday during the final CDU election rally prior to elections in Berlin. Germany Future of German chancellor hangs in the balance as two states go to polls Embattled Friedrich Merz faces nervous wait while far-right Alternative für Deutschland party targets further gains

Prefer the Guardian on Google Voters in two German states are going to the polls with the political future of the embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz , hanging in the balance and an emboldened far right targeting further gains.

Coming two weeks after a seismic election in Saxony-Anhalt in which the anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) scored its highest ever result in a regional poll, the nativist party is expected to drain support again from Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).