Germany Election
Manuela Schwesig (SPD), center, minister-president of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, stands on stage alongside members of the Rostock shanty choir Luv un Lee at a campaign event in Warnemünde, Germany, on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.
As featured on
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a struggle to stabilize his position and keep his agenda on track after voters inflicted two more defeats on his party, ejecting it from a state legislature for the first time. The unpopular Merz vowed to stay on and push through reforms to Germany, minutes after polls closed on Sunday in regional elections in Berlin and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Still, final results underlined the extent of what Merz conceded was a “disaster” in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. His center-right Christian Democratic Union fell just below the 5% of the vote needed to keep seats in the regional parliament, the first time that has happened.
