# Merz's CDU collapses in German regional elections 'disaster' — retained record

> Retained news record from news:semafor.

Canonical: https://highsignal.app/data/records/155f6e1731ce2d28

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source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:semafor)  published 2026-09-20 22:26 ingested 2026-09-21 02:47

[original source ↗](https://www.semafor.com/article/09/20/2026/merzs-cdu-collapses-in-german-regional-elections-disaster)

## retained text



```
Germany’s governing CDU suffered its worst result in 80 years in regional elections Sunday, which Chancellor Friedrich Merz called a “disaster” for his party, as both the far left and far right surged.
The AfD expanded on strong recent results, which analysts believe could portend far-right victories in upcoming European elections.
Ruling parties like Denmark’s Social Democrats have moved right on immigration to stymie the far-right’s progress, and the Swedish center-left’s victory last week — running on stricter migration rules — reflects that “nativism is now shared by all [of Sweden’s] major parties, albeit in lighter form,” a political scientist told The Guardian.
Facing a challenge from the right, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Sunday that Italy would ban face coverings in schools.
```



document fetched 2026-09-21 02:47 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/09/20/2026/merzs-cdu-collapses-in-german-regional-elections-disaster