CDU exits Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament as Linke wins Berlin election

Ejection in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

In the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Christian Democratic Union fell below the five percent electoral threshold for the first time in its 81-year history. Following the full count across all voting districts, the CDU secured 4.9% of the vote, eliminating its parliamentary representation in Schwerin. The Alternative for Germany placed first with 38.2%, more than doubling its share from the 2021 election and securing 32 seats in the state parliament. The Social Democratic Party, led by Minister-President Manuela Schwesig, finished in second place with 35.5% and 29 seats. Schwesig ran a targeted campaign against AfD challenger Leif-Erik Holm, leading direct preference polling with 61% to Holm's 30%. Die Linke obtained 6.5% and the Green Party reached 5.7%, each securing five seats, while the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht narrowly missed parliamentary entry at 4.8% and the FDP received 1.0%. Schwesig is expected to form a three-party coalition with Die Linke and the Greens after her previous SPD-Linke governing alliance lost its parliamentary majority.

Die Linke secures victory in Berlin

In Berlin, Die Linke finished as the strongest force in the Abgeordnetenhaus election, securing 25.7% under lead candidate Elif Eralp. The result marked an increase of 12.9 percentage points from the previous election, lifting the party ahead of the CDU, which dropped to 18.8%. The AfD took third place in the capital with 16.3%, followed by the Greens at 14.3% and the SPD at 12.1%. The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht recorded 5.0% in early projections before final counts, while the Free Democratic Party missed the parliamentary threshold with 2.4%. With the CDU losing more than nine percentage points compared to the last election, the governing coalition between the CDU and SPD lost its working majority in the Berlin state parliament.

Merz resists federal leadership pressure

CDU leader and Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed journalists at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in Berlin thirteen minutes after exit polls closed on Sunday evening. Merz acknowledged the defeat in the northeast while stating his determination to continue his federal reform agenda alongside the SPD in the national coalition.

We cannot sugarcoat the result in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: that is a disaster.

Merz left the party headquarters at 21:40 on Sunday before final counts confirmed the sub-five percent outcome after midnight. He scheduled crisis sessions with the CDU presidium and federal executive committee for Monday morning at 9:00. Prior to the vote, CDU lead candidate in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Daniel Peters criticized the national party leadership, stating that regional candidates suffered because decisions were not being made in Berlin. Saxon CDU state legislator Andreas Heinz noted that finding governing majorities forced compromises that diluted party principles, drawing backlash from voters.

Historical trajectory in eastern Germany

The result in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern follows a steady multi-decade reduction in the CDU's regional vote share, falling from 38.3% in 1990 to 30.2% in 1998, 19.0% in 2016, 13.3% in 2021, and 4.9% in 2026. The defeat comes two weeks after the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD reached 43.8% while the CDU dropped to 17.2%. Political scientist Karl-Rudolf Korte observed on ZDF that traditional broad-based parties are turning into ruins across the political landscape, outside of the SPD's sustained performance in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the sister party, Christian Social Union state group leader Alexander Hoffmann stated on BR24extra that the CSU is not conducting any personnel debates regarding the federal leadership.