Germany Election

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is standing by his vow to stay in office after his party suffered two more regional election defeats and was voted out of a state legislature in a humiliating first. But he faces a struggle to keep his reform agenda intact. Minutes after polls closed on Sunday, the unpopular Merz said he planned to stay on as leader of both Germany and his center-right party, and said that he would push through reforms to Europe’s biggest economy. The chancellor said no one raised any “personnel questions” in party leadership meetings Sunday or Monday.