AXIOS (Rebecca Falconer) - Far-right AfD wins again as Germany's Merz slides
Germany's ruling center-right party, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union, was shut out of a state parliament for the first time Sunday as the far-right Alternative for Germany scored its second victory this month. Why it matters: The result marks the third state election AfD has won — and its second this month — underscoring its growing strength even as Germany's other major parties refuse to govern with it. Driving the news: Merz, who has low approval ratings, told reporters that "reforms have to come." - AfD won about 38% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the CDU recorded its worst result in any German state election since World War II. The CDU fell from 13% to 4.9% and lost all…
Germany's ruling center-right party, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union, was shut out of a state parliament for the first time Sunday as the far-right Alternative for Germany scored its second victory this month. Why it matters: The result marks the third state election AfD has won — and its second this month — underscoring its growing strength even as Germany's other major parties refuse to govern with it. Driving the news: Merz, who has low approval ratings, told reporters that "reforms have to come." - AfD won about 38% of the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the CDU recorded its worst result in any German state election since World War II. The CDU fell from 13% to 4.9% and lost all…Open