Merz refuses to give up after the defeat of Saxony-Anhalt and stresses the responsibility of building the next generation

Following meetings of his party's senior leadership bodies in Berlin, Mertz said: "Surrender is not an option for me."

He added that the responsibility of the federal government and his personal responsibility lies in “working now to create the next generation.”

He pointed out that his children and grandchildren should have the same opportunity that his generation had to live in freedom, peace and prosperity, adding: “This is the responsibility, and I will not shirk it.”

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Dmitriev: Saxony-Anhalt elections inflict a humiliating defeat on Meretz

In response to a question about the extent to which the result of the Saxony-Anhalt elections affected his decision to run again in the upcoming federal parliamentary elections, Merz replied: “I am currently thinking about many things, but I am not thinking about the 2029 federal parliamentary elections.”

He explained that he is instead thinking "intensely about how we can restore common political success." He added that he knows "that we all have to become better, and I am looking for ways to achieve that."

Mertz stressed that the matter is not only a matter of rational understanding of politics, but it is also a matter of concern for people, empathy, and feelings. He concluded by saying: “I am now one of those who do not show their feelings every day, but citizens want different answers in this aspect as well.”

Details of defeat

Bild newspaper reported that the Saxony-Anhalt state elections may signal the beginning of the end for the current German government led by Merz, and raise questions about his early resignation.

Preliminary data showed that the right-wing Alternative for Germany party achieved 44.5% of the votes in the elections in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, while the party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merez only obtained 18.5% of the votes.

The Left Party got 9.5%, the Social Democratic Party got 8%, the Free Democratic Party (liberal) got 2%, the Green Party got 9%, Sarah Wagenknecht's party got 5%, and the rest got 3.5%.

The turnout rate in preliminary numbers in the 2026 elections was about 76.5%, which is much higher than the 2021 elections, in which the percentage of voters reached 60.3%.