Germany: CDU suffers a crushing defeat in the regional elections

Germany’s regional elections delivered mixed results for the country’s major parties. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the far-right AfD won the largest share of the vote, but remains isolated as other parties have ruled out coalition talks, leaving incumbent SPD premier Manuela Schwesig with a realistic path to forming a government. In Berlin, meanwhile, the Left Party came out on top and could potentially form a coalition with the Greens and SPD. The CDU, however, performed poorly in both elections, putting additional pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his conservative bloc. Speaking after the results, France 24 correspondent Jörg Taszman reported that Merz said his government would “continue with the reforms” and that “Germany will be better,” urging supporters not to focus only on what has gone wrong.