CDU leaders resign in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern after 4.9% vote as SPD plans coalition

CDU leadership resignations

Following the state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the executive leadership of the Christian Democratic Union stepped down on Monday evening. State party chairman and lead candidate Daniel Peters announced his departure after a two-hour state executive meeting in Schwerin. General secretary Katy Hoffmeister also resigned from her position. Neither official had appeared publicly earlier in the day, skipping scheduled appearances at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus in Berlin and the state press conference at Schwerin Castle. Deputy state chair Ann Christin von Allwörden, aged 47, stepped down before the board meeting, announcing on Instagram that she would leave all political positions, including her role in the Vorpommern-Rügen district branch, to return to service as a police officer. The 45-year-old Peters framed the move as personal accountability for the electoral defeat.

I am sure that the CDU Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will continue to play a leading role in the future, even if we will not belong to the state parliament now.

Election results and parliamentary exclusion

In the preliminary vote count, the CDU received 4.9% of the vote, missing the 5% threshold required to enter the regional parliament. The defeat represents the first time the CDU has failed to win representation in a state parliament in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Alternative for Germany won the election with 38.2% of the vote, more than doubling its share from the prior election and claiming 32 seats in the Landtag. The Social Democratic Party finished second with 35.5% and 29 seats. Die Linke obtained 6.5% and five seats, while the Greens gathered 5.7% and five seats.

Interim party management

Philipp Amthor will serve as provisional state chairman until the next party conference, expected in early 2027. Amthor, who comes from Ueckermünde and serves in Berlin as Minister of State for Federal-State Cooperation in the Federal Chancellery, stated he would maintain his federal office during the interim appointment. The transition marks the latest change in the regional CDU leadership over a six-year span. Vincent Kokert resigned unexpectedly in early 2020, followed by Michael Sack, who left the position after the 2021 election loss. Franz-Robert Liskow was elected chair in March 2022 and resigned in early 2024, when Peters took office. Former Bundestag member Eckhardt Rehberg led the state branch on an interim basis across several earlier transitions.

Formation of a three-party coalition

State Premier Manuela Schwesig announced plans to form a three-party government between the SPD, Die Linke, and the Greens. The SPD state executive convened behind closed doors in Güstrow on Monday evening, voting unanimously to start exploratory discussions with both potential coalition partners. The SPD negotiating delegation will consist of Schwesig, Interior Minister Christian Pegel, and state general secretary Julian Barlen. Die Linke state manager Salim Hemeed confirmed the party board agreed to enter exploratory talks, pointing to the following week for discussions to start, though no formal invitation had yet been issued. A three-party agreement would control 39 seats in the 71-seat Landtag, leaving the 32-member AfD faction as the only opposition party in the chamber.