International news in seven languages
Topic
In the regional elections of 20 September in the German region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, false testimonies probably generated by IA made it appear that there were ballots without mention of the extreme right party Alternative für Deutschland. In Berlin, where an election was also being held, another false sequence made it appear that AfD ballots were being destroyed.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz was under pressure on Monday 21 September to recover after regional electoral defeats against the radical left and the extreme right, the latter even predicting his departure before the end of the year. In the north-east of the country, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, its Conservative party, the CDU, was eliminated from the assembly, failing to achieve the elimination score of 5%, a first for a regional state in the history of the country since 1945. For further analysis, Paul Maurice, Secretary General of the Franco-German Relations Studies Committee at IFRI,
The extreme right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is victorious on Sunday 20 September in regional elections in the Land of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the north-east of the country, while the radical left party, Die Linke, won a separate election in the capital Berlin. Both elections resulted in heavy losses for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Anne Salles, a lecturer in German studies at Sorbonne University, was the guest of FRANCE 24.
In northeastern Germany, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Chancellor Merz's Conservative party, the CDU, was eliminated from the assembly, failing to achieve the elimination score of 5%, a first for a regional state in the country's history since 1945. The anti-migrant and pro-Russian party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), came first with about 38% of the votes, although a left alliance seems to be in a better position to form the regional executive.
The extreme right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the elections on Sunday 20 September in the Land of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the north-eastern part of the country, although it was its worst election result since 1949, called "desaster" by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The Left Party (Die Linke, radical left) is also at the head of a separate election in the capital, Berlin.
Two weeks after the triumph of AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, the results of the regional elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania confirm the breakthrough of the far right in Germany. It is a debacle for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU, who has acknowledged his failure but remains on course, promising to continue the reforms undertaken. Jeannette Süss (of the Ifri Franco-German Relations Study Committee) was the Invitation of At the Heart of Info.
The German regional elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin both marked the defeat of the same party: Friedrich Merz's CDU. After the recent shock caused by the wide-ranging victory of the far right in Saxony-Anhalt, already analysed as a failure of the Chancellor's policy, can Friedrich Merz survive these two new setbacks?
Friedrich Merz and his party, the CDU, recorded on Sunday what the German Chancellor called "desaster" in regional elections. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Conservative party failed to get elected to the regional assembly, failing to reach the 5% elimination bar, a first in the country's history since 1945. In Berlin, the radical left, Die Linke, is ahead of the Christian Democrats and is in a position to ravage their town hall.
The voting operations in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (north-east) must take place until 18:00 (16:00 GMT), when the first estimates must be published. Our correspondent Caroline Du Bled is in front of the polling stations.
The Germans went to the polls on Sunday in two regional elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where the progress of the far right and the radical left could undermine the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, at the bottom of the polls.
