Overview
- Last Sunday’s state vote delivered the AfD about 43.8 percent of the vote and 39 seats, making it the largest party in the Landtag but leaving it three seats short of an absolute majority.
- The new five-seat presence of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) makes that party a potential kingmaker, while a united anti‑AfD bloc from the CDU to Die Linke still lacks a majority.
- The AfD has invited other parties to talks but CDU, SPD, Greens and Linke have largely rejected cooperation, and the AfD has signaled it could seek tolerance or a minority arrangement if needed.
- The CDU’s collapse to roughly 17.2 percent has sparked public internecine conflict inside the party, including a dispute between Sven Schulze and Sepp Müller over a travel‑cost allegation, and intensified calls for unity from regional CDU leaders.
- Polls taken after the result show the CDU slipping in the Berlin and Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern contests, raising the risk that losses next week could deepen pressure on Chancellor Merz and further reshape federal coalition dynamics.