German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated he will remain in his position, despite exit polls from two state elections suggesting damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Mr Merz described the outcome in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as "a disaster".
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU was projected to barely enter parliament, with the AfD on track to secure the most votes. Public broadcaster ZDF projected the AfD to take 38% of the vote share in the state. In Berlin, the ruling CDU was expected to be surpassed by Die Linke, with ZDF putting the CDU on 20% and Die Linke on nearly 26% of the vote share when polls closed.
The elections took place two weeks after the CDU's vote was halved in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved a major victory. Mr Merz, who has been Chancellor for 16 months, is facing increasing pressure amid low approval ratings and speculation about a potential mid-term replacement. Earlier this week, leaders from eight German states expressed their support for him.