Germany’s Merz vows to fight ‘extremism’ after AfD, far-left election gains

Key Points:

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned rising political extremism in Germany following recent local election losses to far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and far-left Left Party, emphasizing societal responsibility to address the issue.
• The AfD, which gained prominence with a hardline anti-immigration stance since 2015, won the most seats in Saxony-Anhalt but fell short of an absolute majority; an AfD lawmaker was controversially elected president of the state parliament with left-populist support.
• The Left Party achieved a significant victory in the Berlin state election, nearly doubling its previous vote share and potentially installing its lead candidate, Elif Eralp, as Berlin’s first Left Party mayor, with a platform focused on nationalizing private housing associations to combat the housing crisis.
• Merz criticized votes for the AfD as undermining political credibility and incompatible with his CDU party’s values, while his own approval ratings hit record lows, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with his leadership.
• Germany faces another critical electoral test in April with the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament election, which could further indicate public sentiment toward mainstream and extremist parties.