German Chancellor Merz stays on after CDU suffers two regional election defeats
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would remain in office after his CDU lost two regional elections and exited a state legislature for the first time.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would continue leading Germany and the Christian Democratic Union after the party lost elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The CDU fell below the threshold for seats in the latter state's legislature, a first in modern Germany.
No prominent party figure publicly challenged Merz after the results, but coalition partners called for changes to parts of the federal government's economic reform agenda.