Calling a collapse to under 5% a "disaster" and then acting as if nothing happened insults voters. When a chancellor's approval sinks to around 10% while the AfD surges past 35% in the east, that is a verdict. Clinging to power after being wiped out of a state parliament betrays the very people who put the CDU there.

Something remarkable is unfolding in Northern Europe. Sweden's center-left has won 176–173, yet its four parties disagree over governing partners. In Mecklenburg-VorpommernWestern Pomerania, AfD has doubled to 37%, while Merz's CDU has fallen to 5.5%, but AfD may remain excluded. Red lines can protect democracy, but if millions believe elections cannot change power, trust erodes. Democracies ultimately need majorities built around solutions, not exclusion.