Merz fears far-right 'big bang' in German regional polls
Germany's unpopular conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on June 6 of a potential "big bang" breakthrough by the far right in two regional elections in September.
"There is more at stake than just the future of a government" in the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he said in a speech to his party congress in the latter region.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is now well ahead in the polls in both of these former East German states.
Centre-right leader Merz meanwhile is the most unpopular leader of post-war Germany, struggling to pass economic reforms with the centre-left.
