Since the 2024 European elections, Germany's right and far right have repeatedly voted together to toughen immigration laws, weaken the Green Deal and push for further deregulation.

Another local election drubbing for the ruling CDU has increased political instability and threatens growth prospects, economists said.

The chancellor has come under increasing pressure after resounding state election defeats, but says the results "go far beyond my own person"

Pro-Israel demonstrators gathered at Bebelplatz in central Berlin on Nov. 30, 2025, before marching toward the Brandenburg Gate. Participants held

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has admitted that the result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania “cannot be sugar-coated” and called it “a disaster” for his CDU. The party suffered a major setback as the AfD secured around 37.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives are on course for their worst-ever performance in a state election, exit polls showed on Sunday, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)

By James Mackenzie BERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Germany's far right and far left both made big gains in Sunday's state elections, exposing yet again the erosion of the political centre in Europe's largest economy as well as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's weakening hold on power.

Friedrich Merz clinging to power after Christian Democratic Union loses two state elections