Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a sharp setback in two state elections on Sunday, including a record-low result for his Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Even so, he said he would press ahead with potentially painful reforms aimed at reviving Europe’s biggest economy.
Exit polls showed the anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, making strong gains in both states. The results added to pressure on Merz, whose authority had already been weakened by the CDU’s defeat to AfD in Saxony-Anhalt earlier this month.
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According to public broadcaster ARD, the CDU was on 5 per cent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, its worst result in any state since World War II. In Berlin, the CDU was projected to finish second with 20 per cent, behind the Left party at 24.5 per cent.
Merz described his party’s showing as a “disaster”, but rejected any suggestion that he should slow down or abandon his reform plans. He said Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular decisions more necessary. “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience,” Merz said in a statement shortly after the exit polls were announced on public television. “I will demonstrate these qualities as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.”
AfD was projected to win 37 per cent of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and 15.7 per cent in Berlin, according to ARD. However, it was not close to being able to form a regional government in either state.
AfD national co-leader Tino Chrupalla told ZDF television that “the chancellor’s statement today really was more than feeble – he announced that he’d carry on as before, instead of finally drawing the consequences and resigning.” In an apparent reference to AfD, Merz said his government’s reforms would be “the antidote to the poison of authoritarianism, which is penetrating ever deeper into our society as the fascination with authoritarianism grows.”
Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago, promising to turn around an economy that has barely grown in years. But he has failed to improve the national mood and has become deeply unpopular. The CDU’s defeat to AfD in the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt had already come as a shock to many Germans, who believed their country had developed resistance to nationalism and claims of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws outlawing persecution.
The strong AfD showing in Saxony-Anhalt, where it has its best chance yet of forming Germany’s first far-right regional government since World War II, has further hurt Merz’s standing nationally. In the past two weeks, there have been calls, including from within his own party, for him to be replaced as chancellor. However, no top-level allies have publicly called for his departure, and many have warned against “personnel debates”.
Merz also cancelled a planned trip to New York next week for the UN General Assembly, in what appeared to be a sign that he was preparing for a difficult period after the elections. Despite the latest setbacks, he has repeatedly said he intends to remain in office and complete his term, even as the election results underlined the pressure on his leadership and his reform agenda.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
