Merz, "shocked", says that the result in Saxony-Anhalt cannot be ignored

BarcelonaThe overwhelming victory of Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt poses a lesson for the Berlin government, and more directly, for the CDU, the traditional German conservative party, which leads the governing coalition at the federal level. "We are deeply shocked; we did not expect this," admitted the chancellor and leader of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, in a press conference after meeting with the party leadership. The Christian Democrats, who had been governing this small state for 25 years, have renounced trying to form a government after losing 20% of the support they received in the previous regional elections. "We no longer have a mandate to form a government; the AfD has it," said the minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt and candidate for the Christian Democrats, Sven Schulze.

At a time of low popularity for the chancellor, this result serves as a clear message of punishment and a warning regarding the undeniable growth of the far right. "It is the worst result for the CDU in decades," lamented Merz, who promised that it will have consequences, although he did not specify any. On the contrary, he insisted that the government is "on the right track" and is making efforts to "correct errors" from the previous twenty years. He only admitted that the executive must work to communicate better what it is doing. He said that, as chancellor, he assumes responsibility for the negative result, but stressed that he has the support of the party leaders.

Merz could receive another hard blow in two weeks: on September 20 there are elections in the states of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, both also in the east of the country. In a direct question about at what point he might conclude that he can no longer serve as chancellor, Merz replied that he is seriously reflecting on "how to find the path back to shared political success" and that "giving up is not an option".

The leader of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt has made it clear that the party is now "in the opposition" and said that it will take time to evaluate the disastrous results for the party. However, he did not clarify whether he will resign: "I ran as the main candidate and, of course, I will draw the necessary conclusions".