Elections in Germany’s most populous state pose first significant test at ballot box for Friedrich Merz as chancellor
Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)party is expected to make significant gains as voters in the country’s most populous state go to the polls in local elections that are seen as Friedrich Merz’s first significant electoral test since he took office as chancellor four months ago.
North Rhine-Westphalia, home to almost a quarter of Germany’s citizens and made up of swathes of agricultural land, post-industrial towns and cities with large multi-ethnic and student populations, is viewed as something of a bellwether for the country as a whole.
According to final opinion polls, Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union is on course to retain its dominant position in the state, with about 35% of the vote.
The far-right populist AfD has been polling at about 16%, between two and three times its performance in the state’s last local elections five years ago, giving its candidates who are running for mayoral positions a considerable chance of reaching second-round votes in two weeks’ time.
