Five takeaways from Germany's regional elections after far-right gains

Elections in two German states on ⁠Sunday resulted in ​severe losses for the country's leading Christian Democrats, whose Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing pressure to keep the far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party at bay. Here are five takeaways from regional elections in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western ​Pomerania and Germany's capital Berlin. Merz is down, but not (yet) out The results mark a major setback for Merz and his CDU party, whose voters have flocked to the AfD, increasingly doubtful the 70-year-old can revive Germany's economy and bring down the cost of living. Facing the lowest approval ratings for any chancellor since records began, Merz, who himself described the outcome as a "disaster", is under pressure to deliver ​on his promised reforms as ‌calls mount for him to resign after less than 17 months in the job. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: Spotlight © AFP - MARCUS BRANDT 09:38 While Merz signalled he would st...