Despite the CDU’s poor showing in the polls for Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Friedrich Merz intends to continue his campaign as both party chairman and candidate for federal chancellor. Speaking on Sunday evening shortly after the 6 PM forecasts at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in Berlin, he stated that the current situation “requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience.” Merz affirmed that he would possess these qualities as the CDU’s party leader and, crucially, as the country’s federal chancellor. He asserted that reforms are necessary, describing them as “the remedy against the authoritarian poison flooding into our society.” The CDU faced significant difficulties in Berlin, where Sunday’s forecasts from ARD and ZDF showed the party as the second strongest force with an average of 20 percent, suggesting an exit from the governing coalition. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the situation was even more precarious, with the CDU polling just 5.3 percent and facing the risk of failing to gain representation in parliament.
Politics
