Germany's Merz faces second state election test on Sunday
By James Mackenzie
Published on March 20, 2026.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives are facing their second state election test, aiming to defeat the Social Democrats (SPD) in Rhineland-Palatinate. This follows a narrow loss to the environmental Greens in the neighbouring state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8. The latest survey gave Gordon Schnieder from Merz's Christian Democrat (CDU) party a two-point lead over the sitting Social Democrat (SSD) state premier, Alexander Schweitzer. The election is crucial for the SPD, which has seen a steady decline in support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
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