German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a historic collapse in regional elections in September 2026, leading Merz to call the outcome a "disaster". Election Results and Setbacks • Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: The CDU dropped to 4.9% of the vote, failing to cross the 5% threshold and getting completely kicked out of the state parliament. • Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt: The party also faced heavy losses in Berlin (losing the mayorship and trailing the left) and a severe defeat in Saxony-Anhalt earlier in September, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to nearly 44%. • Rise of the Extremes: The regional votes highlighted a wider structural