German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to remain in office after exit polls showed damaging defeats for his centre-right Christian Democratic Union in two state elections held on Sunday.
In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU was projected to barely scrape into parliament, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party on track to win the most votes. According to public broadcaster ZDF, the AfD was projected to take 38% of the vote, followed by the centre-left SPD on 36%.
In Berlin, the ruling CDU was also expected to be beaten, with ZDF projecting Die Linke on nearly 26% against the CDU's 20%.
Merz described the results as "a disaster" for his party.
Despite the setbacks, the chancellor told reporters he would press ahead with his coalition government's plans to push through a package of economic, tax and welfare reforms.
"The reforms have to come," he said. "I am taking on this responsibility, because I want to move our country forward."
He went further, framing the reform agenda in stark terms. "I would even go so far as to say that these reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian poison that, with the fascination of authoritarianism, is penetrating ever deeper into our society," Merz added.
The results come a fortnight after the CDU saw its vote halved as the AfD won a major victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Merz has held the chancellorship for only 16 months and has faced mounting pressure, with poor approval ratings and speculation that he could be replaced mid-term in what has been described as a so-called chancellor swap. Earlier this week, the leaders of eight German states publicly backed him.
Critics have argued that his shift to the right on issues such as immigration has failed to erode AfD support while also alienating voters further to the left.
The AfD is unlikely to enter government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as other parties have refused to work with it.
Polls in both states closed at 18:00 local time, with final results expected in the hours that followed.
