Friedrich Merz says political climate is "harsher and more irreconcilable" amid rise of radical parties

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to remain in office and continue his policy agenda covering taxes, health care, pensions and administrative reform, after his Christian Democrats suffered major setbacks in two state elections on Sunday. The party barely cleared the minimum vote share needed for seats in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's legislature, its weakest result there, while the far-right Alternative for Germany placed first with nearly 38 percent. In Berlin, the left-wing Die Linke was projected to win. Merz said voters had not given his party any lift from the national level in either race, and argued that faith in the nation's institutions is declining as radical parties on the right and left gain ground; his reforms, he said, would help counter the spread of authoritarian politics. An AfD co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, urged him to resign.