German Chancellor Merz vows to stay on despite 'disaster' state election exit polls, tell me about this news in (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvwyz29n0nn2o)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described the latest regional election exit polls as a “disaster” for his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but insisted he will remain in office and continue with his agenda.

Here are the key details reported on the story:

• Historic Lows for the CDU: Exit polls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania indicated that the CDU dropped to around 5% of the votethe party’s worst performance in any German state election since World War II. In Berlin, the CDU also experienced significant losses, trailing behind the Left party.

• Far-Right Surges: The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) made major gains across the ballots, capitalizing on public discontent over the economy, the federal coalition’s performance, and immigration policy.

• Mounting Political Pressure: The devastating projections come shortly after another major blow in eastern Germany, where the AfD took first place in Saxony-Anhalt with around 44% of the vote. The back-to-back defeats have intensified scrutiny over Merz’s leadership, his historically low approval ratings, and the effectiveness of the traditional “firewall” policy that excludes governing coalitions with the AfD.

• Merz’s Position: Despite calls for accountability and growing unease within mainstream German politics, Merz rejected stepping down. He maintained that “giving up is not an option,” pledging instead to accelerate economic and structural reforms, defend Germany’s institutions, and hold firm on foreign policy prioritiesspecifically continued military and financial support for Ukraine.