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Two German states vote as approval for Merz falls to about 14 percent
September 20, 2026
Voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are electing state parliaments, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's approval at about 14 percent.
Friedrich Merz became German chancellor 16 months ago and governs with the Social Democratic Party; his party aimed to counter the AfD, which has been gaining ground in the country's former communist east.
Key facts
- Contests at the state level rarely draw attention beyond Germany, though what the AfD achieved in Saxony-Anhalt, a result the party treats as an opening move toward the federal vote in 2029, has reverberated across Europe.
- Polls opened in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, two states in eastern Germany, where advances by parties on the far right and the far left could weaken the political position of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the real contest pits Manuela Schwesig, the popular SPD state premier, against Leif-Erik Holm, the AfD's top candidate and a onetime radio presenter, while the CDU watches from the sidelines.
- Polling indicates that the conservatives led by Merz are competing with Die Linke (The Left) for first place in Berlin and could be pushed out of power there.
- One statement read: "Not only in Germany. In Italy, in France, in Great Britain. Everywhere the traditional parties go down."
BBC reports that voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are electing state parliaments while the chancellor's own standing slips, and Al Jazeera carries the same account. Al Jazeera reports that Merz's approval has plunged to about 14 percent after 16 months in power, as he struggles to move economic and welfare reforms past his coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party. The Financial Times carries the day as a test of Merz, and The New York Times frames it around a far-right surge.
On substance the outlets agree. BBC reports that in Berlin the conservatives led by Merz risk losing power while they tussle with Die Linke for first place, and that in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the CDU watches a race between the SPD's state premier Manuela Schwesig and the AfD's Leif-Erik Holm, an account Al Jazeera also carries. Florian Hartleb, who studies far-right movements at Modul University in Vienna, told Al Jazeera that Saxony-Anhalt "was certainly a revolution for the German party system." BBC and the Financial Times both report that Merz faces no open challenge for the top job from inside his own party, though talk of a chancellor swap has grown louder, and that his blunt style, including his dismissal of work-life balance, has irritated voters.
The voting itself, the chancellor's poor ratings and his pledge to carry on are corroborated across BBC, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times and The New York Times. The result in each state, and what it does to Merz's hold on the chancellery, is not yet on the record.
Rohloff said that whether Merz ought to step aside is not a simple question, and added: "If I have to answer yes or no, I would say yes. There are other people who maybe have better feelings for the public."
Rohloff
Still developing
The account of the AfD's rise in the eastern states had not moved as of the draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- BBC — German elections under way which could decide fate of Chancellor Merz
- Al Jazeera — Germany’s Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania states head to polls | Elections News | Al Jazeera
- Financial Times — German states go to the polls in high-stakes test for Friedrich Merz
Toggle read the full reports of 2 of the 4 outlets counted on this event. The other 2 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.