Germany’s Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after historic state election defeat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a bruising electoral setback in two state elections on Sunday, including a historic defeat for his party, but vowed to press ahead with potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy. Exit polls by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that Merz’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, came in with just 5 per cent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – the lowest result ever since World War II for the party in any state. The...