In Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appeared before the press on Monday, together with the CDU’s lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze.
“Yesterday’s result has changed not only Saxony-Anhalt, but Germany as a whole,” Merz said following Sunday’s state election results. “We are all profoundly shocked. We did not expect it to turn out like this.”
The far-right, anti-immigration AfD party won the election by a landslide, taking 43.8% of the vote. The CDU came in a distant second with 17.2%.
Compared with the 2021 state election, the AfD more than doubled its vote share, while the CDU saw its share halved.
Almost 60% of voters had chosen parties that call democracy into question, the chancellor said, adding that it was “the most severe electoral defeat” the CDU has suffered in years.
“There will have to be consequences,” he added.
‘Longing for disruption’
For months, Merz has been sliding from one polling low to the next.
Most recently, 78% of respondents felt he was doing a worse job as chancellor than they had expected.
That is according to the “trendbarometer” survey by RTL and n-tv. The poll also showed that 59% of CDU/CSU voters were disappointed with Merz’s performance as chancellor. The survey was carried out by the polling institute Forsa.
Despite his poor approval ratings and the electoral defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz is sticking to his course “without wavering.”
“Our country needs fundamental reforms,” he said.
Merz sees one of the reasons for the public’s dissatisfaction as the government’s failure to communicate policies in a sufficiently emotive and compelling way.
In future, the CDU, together with the SPD, wants to create a better “narrative” to achieve this.
Merz said he also wanted to “personally do justice” to the election result in the coming weeks and that he saw a society “longing for disruption” and “fundamental change.”
The need for compromise must, he argued, be emphasised more strongly.
Little room for AfD on migration policy
The chancellor also sought to reassure the public following the election defeat.
In general, the AfD would in many areas have to follow the line set by the federal government. That also applies to policy on foreign nationals and migration. There is a principle of “federal loyalty”.
Schulze, the CDU’s lead candidate, minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt and chair of the CDU in the state, also wants to draw lessons from the election result, although he did not provide specifics.
It comes as calls for Schulze to step down have grown louder. The Young Union (JU) in Saxony-Anhalt has demanded that the entire CDU leadership in the state resign, as the magazine “Stern” reported, quoting a resolution adopted by the JU Saxony-Anhalt.
It reportedly stated: “The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt needs a comprehensive fresh start. We therefore call for the resignation and the prompt re-election of the entire state leadership – from the state chair to the full executive board.”
Schulze: No defections from the CDU to the AfD
Schulze again stressed that the mandate to form a government now lies with the AfD.
“Overall, this is a day that has shaken us deeply, not only in Saxony-Anhalt,” he said.
In his own constituency, he added, his result was twice as good as the CDU’s statewide performance.
As the AfD announced in a press release on Monday, it is now seeking to form a government despite lacking an absolute majority.
Previously, the AfD’s lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund had ruled that out. To achieve this, the AfD wants to win over parliamentary groups or individual MPs. Only then would Siegmund seek to be elected minister-president.
Asked about this, Schulze said there would be no defections from the CDU, adding that he was sure that members of the BSW would try to help Siegmund become minister-president.