Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped the vote in the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, while the Left Party took the lead in Berlin, projections from broadcaster ARD showed on Sunday evening.
According to preliminary exit polls released by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, the AfD won 37 to 38 percent of the vote in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, up sharply from the 16.7 percent it scored in the state's last election in 2021.
The Social Democrats (SPD) ran a close second at 35.5 to 36.5 percent, followed by the Left Party at 6 to 7.5 percent and the Greens at roughly 5.5 percent. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) plunged to just 5 to 5.5 percent from 13.3 percent in 2021.
In Berlin, the Left Party led with 24.5 to 26 percent, a steep rise from the 12.2 percent it won in the city-state's last election in 2023. The CDU fell to around 20 percent from 28.2 percent, while the Greens took 15 to 15.5 percent, the AfD 13.5 to 16 percent and the SPD about 12 percent.
Both state parliaments serve five-year terms, and German state elections generally apply a threshold of 5 percent of the vote for a party to win seats. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the SPD has governed in coalition with the Left Party since the 2021 state election. In Berlin, the CDU and SPD formed the current government after a rerun in 2023, which was ordered after the city-state's 2021 election was declared invalid because of serious flaws in how the vote was organized and run.
The CDU, Merz's own party, fared badly in both states, with its support dropping markedly from the previous elections.
Addressing the results after the two ballots, Merz called them a disaster, saying the German economy was undergoing profound change, social debate was growing increasingly harsh and public trust in state institutions was eroding under the pressure of political extremes.
He said Germany needed to press ahead with reforms and that his federal government would take responsibility for driving them.
Sunday's ballots came just two weeks after the AfD won 43.8 percent in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, finishing three seats short of an absolute majority. All major German parties continue to rule out forming a coalition with the far right, maintaining a long-standing political firewall that leaves the AfD with votes but no path to power.
Both elections drew close attention because they are taking place against a backdrop of a federal government under pressure, falling support for the established parties and the steady rise of the far right. German media have treated the two votes as a barometer for the mood in Berlin.
Recent surveys found only a small fraction of voters in either state optimistic about Germany's overall direction, with nearly 90 percent rating the federal government's work negatively. Rising prices, the economy and the broader cost of living dominated voters' concerns.
"Many parties have now made it clear that they are unwilling to work with the far-right party. Everything happening in politics at the moment leaves people with a sense of uncertainty -- and, of course, it is worrying to see such large numbers of voters turning to the right," said Haase, a local resident.
"You can see this trend in the elections across the country, including in the previous federal election. Germany is in turmoil, and people across the board feel dissatisfied," said Ralf, another resident.
For many in Germany, the elections reflected not only local political change but a wider realignment of the party landscape, a shifting public mood and the strains bearing down on the federal government. Attention now turns to which parties can assemble stable state governments and how that process feeds back into national politics.
Germany's Left Party wins Berlin election, far-right AfD takes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
