Germany’s right-wing AfD surges as Chancellor Merz’s CDU suffers heavy defeat in state elections ⤵

• Anti-immigration AfD more than doubles its vote share in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, leading with 37%, while rival Social Democrats (SPD) are at 35.5% in exit polls

• Chancellor Merz’s conservative CDU falls to 5.5%, marking the party’s worst-ever result in a federal state, according to public broadcaster ARD

• The AfD’s surge in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern comes just two weeks after its election win in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8%