Merkel calls AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt 'shocking'

Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel called the far-right AfD's election success in Saxony-Anhalt "simply shocking," expressing deep dismay over her CDU party's severe losses in the eastern state. Merkel, CDU member and chancellor from 2005 to 2021, said her "heart bleeds" as the party's vote share halved, calling it a "real turning point" in German history. She urged democratic parties to improve direct citizen engagement and communication. She criticized the declining emphasis on facts in public discourse, citing the AfD's top candidate dismissing economic improvements as "not felt." Merkel warned that prioritizing feelings over facts would represent a "civilizational regression" and must not become mainstream.