Following the state parliament elections in Saxony-Anhalt, CDU leader Merz described the result as a severe defeat for his party’s political standing in Germany. Speaking at a press conference with Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Sven Schulze after a meeting of the Federal Executive Board in Berlin, Merz said the AfD’s result was the CDU’s most severe electoral defeat in years, or even decades.
Merz said the election result had to be accepted within the framework of democratic rules. However, he said Germany could not continue its day-to-day political work as if nothing had happened after the result.
Describing the ability of people to change their political preferences as the essence of democracy, Merz said the rules governing coexistence and the values protected by the constitution could not be put to a vote. The CDU leader stressed that Germany carried a special responsibility stemming from its history and announced that the party would continue to protect the country’s political and constitutional order.
AfD fails to secure a majority
According to the provisional official results, the AfD came clearly first in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament elections with 43.8 percent of the vote. However, the party failed to secure the majority needed to form a government on its own.
The AfD more than doubled its 20.8 percent share from the 2021 elections, achieving its strongest result ever in a state parliament election. The CDU, meanwhile, lost 19.9 percentage points compared with 2021 and came second with 17.2 percent.
The SPD, which increased its share of the vote by 0.9 percentage points compared with the previous election, remained the third-largest party with 9.3 percent.
Merz calls for reforms
Describing the election result as evidence that Germany needed fundamental reforms, Merz said the government needed to explain its decisions and the reasons behind them to the public more effectively.
Merz said he was aware of his personal responsibility toward his country and expressed his determination to fulfill it. Asked whether he was considering the personal consequences, he replied: “Giving up is not an option for me.”
