Merz humiliated as AfD wins again in Germany

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz is already looking like a lame duck leader after less than a year and a half in office. On Sunday, his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a crushing defeat in two state elections. In the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won 38% of the vote — its second regional victory this month. The CDU recorded its worst result since World War II, failing even to reach the 5% threshold needed to enter the state parliament. Merz cancelled a planned speech at the United Nations General Assembly to manage the fallout. He took over the CDU promising to stop the AfD. Instead, the party has surged to an unprecedented level of electoral strength and now leads comfortably in national polls. The results reflect widespread economic insecurity and a crisis in living standards. Voters are using elections to protest, and the far right is benefiting.