Support for Merz plunges after CDU’s losses to Germany’s right and left

Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU and German Chancellor, is losing popularity, especially after his party's defeat in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where it failed to clear the 5% threshold and the far-right AfD came first. In Berlin, the CDU finished second behind The Left, which aims to form a government. Support for Merz is declining, with a survey showing only one in ten respondents satisfied with his performance, the lowest since 1997.