This NATO head will be gone by year-end? AfD says CDU’s collapse has started Merz political twilight

Friedrich Merz is facing renewed pressure after his CDU crashed to 4.9% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, missing the threshold for state parliament in its worst regional result since 1949. AfD candidate Leif-Erik Holm declared that the “twilight” of Merz’s chancellorship had begun and predicted he would not survive the year, while Alice Weidel claimed the CDU would never again win a federal election. Merz acknowledged a “severe blow” but has signalled he intends to remain chancellor and continue his reform agenda. Can Merz steady the CDU after its historic setback?