BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz doubled down Monday on pushing through unpopular reforms to Europe’s largest economy after a far-right party surged to a landslide victory in a regional election, with a very good chance of forming the first far-right state government since the Nazi era.
Mr. Merz said his center-right Christian Democratic Union was “deeply shocked” by what he called “the most serious election defeat that the CDU has had for years, for decades.” But he indicated that he’s determined to stay at the helm and said “giving up is not an option for me.”
The anti-migration and Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, fell just short of a majority in Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a small eastern state that gained outsized prominence as AfD eyed power there. Its regional branch is one of several considered a proven right-wing extremist group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
AfD’s victory is a major distraction for Germany and Mr. Merz at a time when Europe faces several challenges, including Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, a suspected sabotage campaign targeting NATO countries, and difficult dealings with President Trump.
Mr. Merz said he wanted to assure Germany’s allies that “our institutions are resilient and stable” and the country will stick to its values and constitution after the AfD win. “We know that Germany carries special responsibility because of its history,” he said.
He vowed that he won’t “budge one millimeter from my fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom against Russia now.” Germany is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in its war against Russia.
Because of Germany’s Nazi past, far-right movements have always come under strong scrutiny. Other major parties have refused to cooperate with AfD in a “firewall.” Unlike many countries in Europe, modern Germany hasn’t had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state or major-city government.
Mr. Merz vowed to weaken AfD before he came to power last year, but instead has seen the party’s support increase.
The governing coalition of his Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats has developed a reputation for squabbling and become deeply unpopular, as has Mr. Merz himself. The government has struggled to persuade voters that it can get the country’s chronically sluggish economy moving, through potentially painful reforms, including to the pension system.
But he insisted Monday that “we need fundamental reforms in Germany.” He said it’s a question of “nothing less than the future of our country and the opportunities of our children and grandchildren, and we must not squander those. That is why my determination to continue the reform course is unbroken.”
He acknowledged a need to “justify them, not just rationally but also emotionally.”
Germany faces two more regional elections on Sept. 20, in Berlin and in another eastern state, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where AfD is also strong.
While Mr. Merz continues to push back against resistance to his proposed changes, AfD — whose victory was cheered by far-right parties across Europe — faces potentially tricky maneuvering to put its candidate for governor in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, in power.
Mr. Siegmund had pushed for an absolute majority in the state legislature that would allow AfD to sidestep mainstream parties’ shunning of it. After the vote, he signaled that AfD still isn’t willing to make compromises, insisting that “we don’t want to become like the parties that were punished” by breaking pre-election promises. He also rejected the idea of a minority government.
But he said it has “a very clear mandate to form the government” and that his party would reach out to other groups in the legislature and even to individual lawmakers. “Our goal now is to build precisely this stable majority in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
AfD is three seats short of a majority. It could reach out to the hard-left BSW party, which won five seats. The two parties share a Russia-friendly course and oppose immigration but disagree on some other issues.
BSW has criticized the “firewall” against AfD and signaled again Monday that it could allow Mr. Siegmund to become governor by abstaining in a potential third round of voting for a new governor in the state legislature, in which a simple majority would suffice.
It’s also possible that newly elected lawmakers from other parties could defect to AfD, which would need only three to break ranks.
Forming a government excluding AfD would be possible only if all the other parties in the legislature worked together. However, an alliance of any kind between those parties is improbable and would be prone to instability.
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