AfD wins Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as CDU drops out of state parliament with 4.9% of votes

AfD victory and CDU collapse in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Preliminary final results from the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in first place with 38.1% of the vote. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) took second place with 35.5%, followed by The Left with 6.5% and the Greens with 5.6%. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led nationally by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, secured 4.9% of the ballots, falling below the 5% electoral threshold. This is the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that the CDU failed to enter a state parliament. Five years earlier, the CDU had won 13.3% of the vote in the state. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also missed the threshold with 4.9%, while the regional electoral commission noted that final validated totals should not deviate significantly from the preliminary outcome.

Coalition arithmetic in Schwerin

Despite the AfD winning the largest share of the vote, incumbent state premier Manuela Schwesig of the SPD is positioned to assemble a governing majority in the Schwerin state parliament. The previous coalition between the SPD and The Left lost its governing majority on its own, but a three-party coalition of the SPD, The Left, and the Greens will hold sufficient seats to govern. Schwesig increased her party's standing during recent months despite previous criticism regarding ties to the Nord Stream foundation. AfD lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm announced that his party would seek to open talks with all parliamentary factions.

We received a mandate to govern in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Holm stated that the AfD would invite all parties to discussions in order to restore order in the state. He rejected claims regarding extremist tendencies, noting that the regional party branch in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is not under intelligence surveillance as a confirmed right-wing extremist group.

The Left finishes first in Berlin

In the concurrent state election in Berlin, projections by broadcaster ZDF placed The Left in first place with 26.0% of the vote, ahead of the CDU at 20.0%. The Greens took 15.5%, the AfD secured 13.5%, the SPD finished with 12.0%, and BSW reached 5.0%. Parallel exit poll figures from broadcaster ARD projected 24.9% for The Left, 20.0% for the CDU, 15.7% for the AfD, 15.0% for the Greens, 11.9% for the SPD, and 5.0% for BSW. The Left campaigned under lead candidate Elif Eralp, while the CDU is expected to lose the governing mayor office. Dr. Piotr Kubiak of the Western Institute in Poznań observed that while the AfD confirmed its position across the former East Germany, it faced stronger demographic barriers among Berlin's metropolitan electorate.

Federal consequences for Chancellor Merz

Speaking from CDU headquarters in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the outcome in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a catastrophe. The defeat follows the 6 September 2026 election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD also achieved a first-place finish. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel stated that the party had become Germany's new people's party and replaced the CDU. Addressing party members, Merz affirmed his determination to remain in office and continue his legislative agenda.

I want to push our country forward.

Merz stated that trust in institutions has declined but insisted that domestic reforms must proceed. Commentators pointed to upcoming pension reform legislation as a decisive test for the stability of his federal coalition.