'Not my Chancellor': The AfD wave is growing, and Friedrich Merz may be Germany's next big casualty

Germany’s Friedrich Merz faces another bruising electoral test as voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania head to the polls, just weeks after the AfD’s 43.8% breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, polls have put Merz’s CDU perilously close to the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament. AfD candidate Leif-Erik Holm went further, declaring Merz would be “gone” if the CDU fell below that mark. Meanwhile, Berlin voters voiced frustration over living costs and established parties. With pressure already mounting inside conservative ranks, could another CDU setback deepen questions over Merz’s leadership?