Merz Vows to Press Ahead as SPD Gives Mixed Reaction to State Election Rout

The day after the twin state election defeats, Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters he would stay in office and push his tax, pension and health reform agenda through parliament despite the CDU's worst-ever showing, with his own approval rating stuck at roughly 14% in the latest INSA poll. Coalition partner SPD gave a split verdict: co-leader Lars Klingbeil called the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern result — where the SPD held second place against the AfD — 'a great encouragement for social democracy in general,' while Berlin SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach described his party's record-low 12.1% there as 'catastrophic,' saying 'with only 12% of the vote, we're not that anymore' as a major party. The SPD nonetheless signaled it would continue the federal grand coalition with Merz's CDU/CSU, even as commentators increasingly questioned whether he could survive to the 2029 election.