It is OVER for Merz after disastrous elections?

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are facing an existential crisis following bruising regional election defeats.

The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election saw the centre-right CDU fail to reach the five percent threshold, for the first time in a state election since 1949. The far-right AfD won with 38 percent of the vote.

Merz, who has been chancellor for just 16 months, has record-low approval ratings, but is vowing to stay on and push through unpopular reforms aimed at reviving Germany's sluggish economy.

As the political centre erodes and the far-right AfD makes major gains, can the CDU recover, and how long can Merz possibly last as German Chancellor?

Tabea Schaumann

Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre

Wolfgang Muno

Chair of Comparative Government at University of Rostock

Hajo Funke

Political Scientist

Edward Knudsen

Economic Security Analyst at RAND Europe

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