Most Germans call for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to resign after the CDU's poor results in the regional elections (poll)

Most Germans support Chancellor Friedrich Merz stepping down, following the poor results achieved by his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in Germany’s recent regional elections. According to a poll conducted for RTL and ntv, 55% of respondents want Merz to resign, while 40% want him to remain in office.

Pressure on the chancellor has increased after the CDU won only 5.5% of the vote in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the party’s poorest result in a regional election.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in first, with 37% of the vote, followed by the SPD, with 35.5%. The CDU also lost the office of mayor of Berlin and recently suffered a defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD has a chance to form its first regional government.

Merz described the result in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as “a disaster,” but announced that he had no intention of resigning. The chancellor said he would continue economic, fiscal, and social reforms and would assume responsibility both as head of government and of the CDU. So far, no major party leader has publicly called for him to step down.