German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to remain in office and press on with his government's reform agenda after his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) took heavy losses in two German state elections.

The CDU suffered a major setback in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where they fell short of the 5% needed to enter the state parliament. The CDU got 4.9 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results, its first failure to enter a German state parliament since the Federal Republic was founded.

In the northeastern state, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 38.2%, ahead of the governing Social Democratic Party (SPD), which scored 35.5%. The AfD more than doubled its 2021 result, but its powers to form a government remain limited, as other major parties have ruled out cooperation with it.

Merz called the CDU's showing in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a "disaster" and said the party had not been supported enough by the federal government.

He nonetheless dismissed calls to resign, saying he would remain CDU chairman and chancellor. “The reforms have to come,” Merz said after the elections, arguing that Germany needs changes to its economy, tax system, welfare policies, and bureaucracy.

He also cautioned against the rising attraction of authoritarian politics in Germany, adding that the government’s reform program was meant to reinforce the country’s democratic institutions.

Berlin also suffered heavy losses for the CDU, which was displaced as the leading party by Die Linke.

Official preliminary figures from Berlin put Die Linke on 25.7% of the second vote, ahead of the CDU on 18.8%. The AfD won 16.3 percent, the SPD 12.1 percent, and the Greens 14.3 percent.

The outcome in Berlin is a stinging defeat for the CDU, which had governed the capital in coalition with the SPD. The Linke’s showing was its best in the city in the election, while the AfD also had a strong showing.

The two elections are another blow for Merz after the strong AfD result in Saxony-Anhalt earlier this month. The latest results risk reviving debate within the CDU on the chancellor’s leadership and the political direction of the federal government.

But it would take more than a bad result in a state election to dislodge Merz as chancellor. The German Basic Law says that the Bundestag can only remove a chancellor by electing a successor with a majority of its members in a constructive vote of no confidence.

In May 2025 Merz became head of a coalition government led by the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, together with the SPD.

The last state elections do not directly affect the composition of the federal government in Germany. Their importance lies mainly in the political pressure they put on the parties in power at the national level.

Merz has made it clear that he wants to stay in office and continue to push the government’s reform program despite the electoral setbacks for the time being.