German Chancellor Merz calls state election a 'disaster' for his party but vows to stay on - BBC

Share Save Add as preferred on Google Amy Walker and Jessica Parker , Berlin correspondent Why Merz is staying on as German chancellor after election 'disaster' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called a local election defeat for his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a "disaster" but vowed to remain in post.

In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU fell short of a 5% threshold to enter parliament, underperforming against what had already been projected to be the party's worst ever result in the area.

Far-right Alternative for Germany (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.

Meanwhile in Berlin, the ruling CDU was on course to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left).