German Chancellor Merz said he has secured CDU backing to remain in office and
will press ahead with a reform agenda after the party suffered heavy losses in
Sunday’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election. The CDU fell below 5% and
failed to enter the state parliament for the first time in post-war history,
with gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) fueling internal
calls for his resignation. Merz convened CDU leaders in Berlin and proposed
maintaining the 16-month coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) to advance
comprehensive pension, healthcare and tax reforms.
