Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and MV: What happens after the elections?

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) can continue to govern with a red-red-green coalition, in Berlin the left-wing Elif Eralp could become governing mayor, and in Saxony-Anhalt, the landslide war of Ulrich Siegmund (AfD) threatens to create the first right-wing extremist government in the history of the Federal Republic. The super election year 2026 ends with the three state elections.

How big the incision they mark is could already be seen early on Sunday evening. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) appeared in front of the cameras shortly after the first projections - which is highly unusual. Anyone who suspected that he would announce his withdrawal from party leadership after the CDU's collapse was mistaken. Merz wants to remain chancellor and CDU leader and implement the reform agenda of his black-red federal government as soon as possible.

Whether Merz can hold on remains unclear, but there are no candidates in sight within the Union for the time being to overthrow Chancellor. And the question also arises for the SPD as to whether it will stick to the so-called social reforms and its self-destructive course. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the SPD came in just behind the AfD. Schwesig can continue to govern there, but despite rather than because of the federal SPD.

While Schwesig relied on the impact of the experienced Prime Minister as “the woman against blue”, Elif Eralp won in Berlin with her charisma and an election campaign that was reminiscent of the style of New York Mayor Mamdani with the motto “Make Berlin affordable”. In Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund played the good-humoured right-wing extremist, with Simson and a friendly face for the AfD, which is as ethnic there as Höcke was in Thuringia.

So are people and emotions the deciding factor? And do these three elections – despite the successes of right-wing extremists – also provide clues as to how the AfD can be beaten? It is now clear that election campaigns and policies that focus primarily on the AfD have little effect.

It seems to work all the better with a positive vision and clear concepts, as can be seen from the Left Party. A rent election campaign like the one in Berlin would also have potential in other major cities. But what about rural areas where the AfD is particularly successful? What helps against the rise of right-wing extremists?

Whether the Left Party will be the mayor in Berlin and there will be a red-green-red alliance depends not only on whether the SPD moves on the issue of socializing large real estate companies, but also on the Left itself. Parts of the party do not want to govern at all, but rather remain in the opposition. And in view of several anti-Semitic incidents, the distancing and criticism from Eralp and the state leadership are not enough, even if they are credible.

In a live episode from the taz canteen, the moderators Martina Mescher from the wochentaz politics team and Anja Krüger from the taz's economics department discuss these and other questions with Anna Lehmann, head of the taz parliamentary office, Gareth Joswig, who reports on the AfD for the taz, and Uwe Rada from the taz's Berlin department.

“Bundestalk” – The taz political podcast appears every week on taz.de and everywhere there are podcasts.