German chancellor vows to stay in office despite AfD triumph in state election

Friedrich Merz said his conservative CDU was shaken ‘to its very foundations’ after far-right victory in Saxony-Anhalt A “shocked” and chastened Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay in office despite the far right’s triumph in a state election that has brought anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin politicians within striking distance of power. The German chancellor, appearing ashen-faced in front of reporters in Berlin, said on Monday that the landslide victory by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt had shaken his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) “to its very foundations”. The unpopular Merz, who had pledged to halve the AfD’s support at the national level, has watched the nativist party rack up electoral gains, none as convincing as its utter rout of the CDU in the eastern region on Sunday with nearly 44% of the vote. The AfD and its candidate Ulrich Siegmund fell short of an absolute majority but could yet create Germany’s first far-right state government since the Nazi period. It is polling at about 28%.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open The Guardian World ↗