German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faced growing pressure on Monday after bruising regional election defeats to far-right and far-left parties, with the AfD even predicting he will be out of power within months.
The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) came first in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday where Merz's CDU sank to 4.9%, below the threshold to stay in parliament and its worst result since the party was formed in 1945.