German states vote as far-right AfD polls level with governing SPD, threatening Chancellor Friedrich Merz

Voters in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania went to the polls on 20 September 2026, with the far-right Alternative for Germany polling at 36 percent against the Social Democrats' 37 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU stood at just 6 percent — dangerously close to the 5 percent parliamentary threshold. Merz's approval ratings have fallen to approximately 14 percent after 16 months in office, as he has struggled to push through economic and social welfare reforms with his centre-left coalition partner, the SPD. The AfD came close to winning an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks earlier, and the Berlin race features a tight contest between the CDU and the far-left Die Linke, which has capitalised on a severe housing crisis and youth discontent.