Published Updated

Europe07 September, 20263 min read

Die Linke Wins Berlin, AfD Captures Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merz Rejects Resignation

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AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt with about 44% and 39 of 83 seats. Die Linke wins Berlin; AfD leads Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

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Die Linke Wins Berlin, AfD Captures Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Merz Rejects Resignation
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Merz rejects resignation

Germany’s far-left Die Linke won Sunday’s election in Berlin while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) captured Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, delivering major gains to parties on the political margins and a severe setback to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Merz described the CDU’s performance as a “disaster” but rejected suggestions that he should step aside, saying he intended to remain in office and pursue planned economic, tax and pension reforms. Merz also told public broadcaster ARD that “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience,” and he pledged to “demonstrate these qualities as chairman of the CDU and, above all, as Chancellor of our country.”

“Merz described the CDU’s performance as a ‘disaster’ but rejected suggestions that he should step aside.”
The Jerusalem Post

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said she now sees her party as the successor to the CDU, pronouncing “We are the new people's party in Germany,” and criticizing the Christian Democrats for refusing to entertain the possibility of entering into a coalition with AfD. The election results put new pressure on Germany’s governing parties while raising immediate questions in Berlin over Die Linke’s relations with pro-Palestinian activists and allegations of antisemitism within parts of the party.

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Berlin coalition questions

Die Linke finished first in Berlin with 25.7% of the vote, more than doubling its support from the previous election, while the CDU finished second and the AfD placed third with about 16%, its strongest result in a Berlin election. Elif Eralp, Die Linke’s lead candidate, sought to form a coalition with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, a combination that would give the three parties enough seats to govern the capital, and Eralp said, “in our city, love and justice have triumphed over hate.” Berlin’s election-day controversy centered on Left Party candidate Basem Said sharing an Instagram appeal by Palestinian activist Majed Abusalama, a co-founder of Palästina Spricht, which Berlin’s domestic intelligence service classified as a confirmed extremist organization.

Abusalama described the election as a “Wahlintifada,” or “election intifada,” and urged voters to support several Left Party candidates, including Eralp. The disputes over pro-Palestinian ties and antisemitism then carried into negotiations over Berlin’s next government, with the election result intertwined with those allegations.

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Image: 21News
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AfD surge and Europe

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD won with 38.2% of the vote, ahead of the SPD, while the CDU received only 4.9%, leaving it below the 5% threshold required to enter the state parliament. The results intensified debate over whether Germany’s mainstream “firewall” strategy can keep the AfD from power, and Reuters said the outcome exposed “the erosion of the political centre in Europe's largest economy as well as Chancellor Friedrich Merz's weakening hold on power.” Reuters also reported that the AfD wants to expel foreigners with no right to stay in Germany, restore energy ties with Russia and quit the euro, while the Left Party wants to cap rents and nationalise large parts of the Berlin housing market.

Sudha David-Wilp, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, warned that “Germany is entering a period of political instability where viable coalitions are harder and harder to build, and that doesn't bode well for Europe when Germany is the de facto leader.” As the next steps hinge on coalition building in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the election outcomes also raised questions about how far Merz’s reform agenda can proceed amid pressure within his coalition with the SPD.

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