MERZ: CATASTROPHIC ELECTION RESULT, WILL STICK WITH REFORM AGENDA

BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 20 /SRNA/ – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his conservative Christian Democratic Union /CDU/ had suffered a catastrophic result in state elections, but stressed that the federal government would continue pursuing unpopular economic and social reforms.

The CDU lost control of Berlin, where exit polls projected the left-wing Die Linke party to finish first.

The CDU also recorded its worst-ever result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, barely clearing the 5% threshold, while the right-wing Alternative for Germany /AfD/ was projected to finish first.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel called on Merz to draw conclusions from what she described as another electoral debacle.

She urged Merz's conservatives to abandon their so-called "firewall" policy of refusing cooperation with the far right.

"Friedrich Merz must draw conclusions. He must do so for his party and for Germany," Weidel told ZDF.

She added that the AfD had received a mandate to govern in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

According to projections, the AfD won 37% of the vote in the state, while the governing Social Democratic Party /SPD/ received 35.5%. The result means neither party can form a government on its own.