PoliticsChancellor Merz calls state election defeats a ‘disaster’ but vows to stay

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has described two local election defeats for his Christian Democratic Union as a “disaster”, while pledging to remain in office. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU failed to clear the 5% threshold for parliament; the far-right Alternative for Germany was projected to lead the vote but was unlikely to…