German chancellor points to major political division in Germany

BERLIN, October 17. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz admitted a profound political division in the country and urged the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to redefine its purpose.

"Let’s be honest with one another: we are going through a severe political polarization, and we are experiencing it internally as well," he told an annual conference of the CDU/CSU coalition’s youth conference in Bonn, aired by Phoenix TV.

"Germany needs us in the future as well, but we need to justify our existence anew," Merz added.

In September, the conservative union suffered disastrous results in state elections in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Saxony-Anhalt. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the CDU failed to pass even the 5% threshold to the local parliament. In Berlin, they lost to the Left Party, and in Saxony-Anhalt - to Alternative for Germany (AfD).