German voters turn to left and far-right as 'disaster' for ruling CDU threatens pro-growth reforms

German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz speaks at a CDU campaign event on September 17, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLeft-wing and far-right parties stormed to success in German local elections over the weekend, delivering another hammer blow to the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and complicating the path for its increasingly unpopular pro-growth agenda. Chancellor Friedrich Merz accepted a "disaster" for the CDU following the votes in Berlin, where Die Linke (The Left) came first, and in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped the vote. The center-right CDU has led a national coalition government under Merz since 2025 and has been Germany's dominant political force in the postwar era, formerly helmed by longstanding Chancellor Angela Merkel. The AfD is unlikely to be able to govern in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern due to a boycott by other parties of any collaboration with the far-right. But its success will provide further momentum to a political force that came first in another state election result earlier this month and is ...