State elections have returned with majority support for Germany's right-wing anti-immigration party, AfD, according to exit polls.
Mr Merz has signalled he will push on as chancellor amid speculation the bad result could prompt him to resign.
The AfD emerged with 37 per cent of votes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to polls conducted by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
The firewall was formally established in 2018, acting as an agreement between parties to suppress the influence of politics, by ruling out any coalition with the far right-aligned parties.
The elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin follow the early September election in Saxony-Anhalt, a moment where the AfD came close to winning an absolute majority.
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The right-wing Alternative for Deutschland party has made strong gains in more state elections, according to exit polls, leaving Chancellor Friedrich Merz's future balanced on a knife's edge after 16 months in office.
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State elections have returned with majority support for Germany's right-wing anti-immigration party, AfD, according to exit polls.
If poll results are confirmed, they would be the worst results since 1949 for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union.
Mr Merz has signalled he will push on as chancellor amid speculation the bad result could prompt him to resign.
The right-wing Alternative for Deutschland party has made strong gains in more state elections, according to exit polls.
The AfD emerged with 37 per cent of votes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to polls conducted by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
However the anti-immigration party is set to remain iced out of power in both states due a "firewall" of non-cooperation, agreed by other parties.
The firewall was formally established in 2018, acting as an agreement between parties to suppress the influence of politics, by ruling out any coalition with the far right-aligned parties.
The AfD also gained in strength, polling 16 per cent of votes in Berlin.
The elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin follow the early September election in Saxony-Anhalt, a moment where the AfD came close to winning an absolute majority.
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