Merz Says Germany Is Being Watched as CDU Faces Two Regional Votes

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told party supporters in Berlin on Thursday that Germany is being watched, using his final campaign appearance before two regional elections to argue that his government is emerging from crisis.

Speaking at Christian Democratic Union headquarters, Merz said the country's international role was under scrutiny and that expectations rested on Germany helping to keep the European continent stable and preserving freedom and peace in Europe.

The remarks came after a difficult period for the chancellor, whose authority was damaged by his party's heavy defeat on September 6 in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, finished just short of a majority there, giving it its best chance yet of forming the country's first far-right regional government since World War II.

Two more states vote on Sunday: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, another largely rural region in the formerly communist east, and the capital, Berlin. Both contests are challenging for Merz's centre-right party and are expected to deliver further gains for the AfD. The outcomes could shape whether Merz can hold on to power and press ahead with economic reforms.

In his speech, Merz sought to rally the audience, saying that after 16 months his government could claim to be on the way out of the crisis it faced when he was elected in May last year. He acknowledged that some criticism of his record was justified, though not all of it.

He also addressed the shifting relationship between the United States and Europe, saying the era of unconditional transatlantic friendship was likely over for a long time. He pointed to a change in political stance on the other side of the Atlantic and in how the alliance is assessed, a shift he said many had not thought possible. Rather than dwell on the loss, Merz urged his audience to seize the opportunity it presented, arguing that it was overdue for Europe to take more responsibility for itself.

Thursday's appearance was Merz's fifth and final campaign event of the race.