German polls threaten new shock waves for Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz —AP

Berlin, GERMANY—Germans began casting their ballots on Sunday in two state elections in which far-right and far-left gains could deal a fresh blow to embattled Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Polling stations in Berlin and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania opened around 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), several media outlets reported, with voting set to last until 6 p.m. Merz, 70, has scheduled a crisis meeting of his center-right CDU party leadership to discuss first results as they come in from the regional polls in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The chancellor, in power for 16 months, has also cleared his calendar for the following days and skipped a trip to the United Nations General Assembly to deal with potential aftershocks from the votes. The far-right, pro-Trump and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) dealt a stunning defeat to his CDU two weeks ago in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, fueling speculation that internal party support for Merz is wobbling.

AFP

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