German Chancellor Merz calls state election a 'disaster' for his party but vows to stay on

Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay on despite exit polls in two local elections suggesting damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party was projected to only just scrape into parliament, while the AfD was on track to win the most votes. Merz called the result "a disaster" for his party.In Berlin, the ruling CDU was also expected to be beaten by Die Linke (The Left).Merz is under mounting pressure, with poor approval ratings and rumours he could even be replaced mid-term in a so-called chancellor swap.Votes took place on Sunday, a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved as the far-right Germany" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="3089" data-entity-type="organization">Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a major victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.Echoing comments he made after that defeat, Merz told reporters on Sunday that he would forge ahead with his coalition government's plans to push through a package of economic, tax and welfare reforms."The reforms have to come," he insisted. "I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward"."I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, with the fascination of authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society," Merz added.