AfD overtook Merz’s party in the election and called on him to resign after a historic defeat
Kyiv • UNN
AfD won in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with more than 38% of the vote, while the CDU failed to clear the threshold. Merz acknowledged the defeat but will remain in power.
The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Tino Chrupalla, said that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz should resign after the "catastrophic" results of the local elections. He said this in an interview with Deutsche Welle, reports UNN.
He was commenting on the results of the elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin on Sunday, September 20, which he called a crushing defeat for Merz and his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Details
According to preliminary data, the CDU is receiving only 4.9 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and risks failing to enter the state parliament. In Berlin, the CDU is in second place after the Left Party, narrowly ahead of the AfD.
"This is also a crushing defeat for Merz as chancellor. I would expect him to draw conclusions from this catastrophe in Berlin and here, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and offer his resignation. Citizens would expect this, and the country deserves it," Chrupalla said.
The AfD is in first place in the elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with more than 38 percent. Incumbent state premier Manuela Schwesig and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), according to Chrupalla, have been "dethroned" — they are in second place with 35.4 percent of the vote.
"As the election winners who have received a mandate to govern, we will of course propose talks to the other parties. And we will see whether they want to hide behind their firewall," the AfD co-leader said.
He believes that the AfD’s ratings will continue to rise because "citizens want change." In the politician’s view, the party will join the government — all that is needed is patience. "And we are ready. We want change. We want to turn the state upside down and put it back on its feet," Chrupalla added.
What Merz said
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as noted by the BBC, called his party’s defeat — that of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — in the local elections a "catastrophe," but promised to remain in power.
In the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU failed to clear the 5-percent threshold for entering parliament, performing worse than expected and recording the party’s worst-ever result in the region. Meanwhile, in Berlin, the governing CDU was expected to lose to Die Linke (the Left).
Merz has been under growing pressure after months of low approval ratings, and there have been rumors that he could be replaced halfway through his term in a so-called "chancellor change."
After the vote, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel answered a BBC question about how long Merz would remain in power by saying in English: "He will be gone pretty soon."
Two local elections were held on Sunday, two weeks after the CDU received half as many votes in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the Alternative for Germany achieved a major victory.