Merz’s conservatives win key state vote despite far-right surge
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the Rhineland-Palatinate state election with 30.9% of the vote, ending 35 years of Social Democratic Party (SPD) control and providing a boost to the conservative leader.
- The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) more than doubled its vote share to 19.7%, marking its best-ever result in a western German state and signaling growing support beyond its traditional eastern strongholds.
- The SPD suffered a severe setback, dropping about 10 percentage points to 25.8%, intensifying internal party crises and raising questions about its future role in the federal coalition government.
- The election results highlight increasing political polarization in Germany, with
