Germany's far-right AfD leads race in north-east state, exit poll shows - Reuters

Exit polls indicate the far-right AfD is leading the race in a north-east German state, extending its winning streak across two state elections. Conversely, Friedrich Merz's CDU has slumped to a historic postwar low, risking a failure to secure representation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Merz described these results as a disaster for his center-right party but vowed to remain in office despite growing criticism regarding his leadership and the future direction of the CDU within Germany.