Germany’s Friedrich Merz under pressure as far-right AfD eye more regional election gains

BERLIN — German voters go to the polls on Sunday in two state elections that look likely to heap more pressure on struggling Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose future has been in the balance since the far right’s triumph in another regional vote this month.

The ⁠elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a largely rural state in the formerly communist east, and the capital Berlin follow the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came close to the rare feat of winning an absolute majority.

Regional elections would not usually draw much interest outside Germany, but the AfD’s success in Saxony-Anhalt, which it sees as the first step towards winning federal elections due in 2029, has sent shock waves through Europe.

In just over a decade, the party, which ⁠wants to take tough action to deport foreigners with no right to stay in ​Germany, restore ⁠energy ties with Russia and quit the euro, has transformed itself from a fringe eurosceptic movement to the country’s most popular party.

Opinion polls indicate it is unlikely to repeat its victory in Saxony-Anhalt in either of Sunday’s votes. But they are both expected to ⁠underscore the huge advances it has made in…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business