German Chancellor Merz commits to staying in office after regional election defeats

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on September 21, 2026 that he will stay in power after his CDU party lost badly in two regional elections the day before. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU failed to win even five percent of the vote, which meant it could not enter the state parliament at all. Merz called this result a "disaster." In Berlin, the CDU finished second behind the far-left Die Linke party. The far-right AfD performed strongly in both states. These results followed another CDU defeat in Saxony-Anhalt about two weeks earlier. The AfD has called on Merz to resign. He has been Chancellor for 16 months, leading a coalition with the Social Democratic Party. Merz said he will continue working on economic and social reforms.