Germany’s Merz defiant after historic state elections defeat, vows to press ahead with reforms
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz remained defiant on Sunday, vowing to press ahead with potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy, after suffering a bruising electoral setback in two state elections. Exit polls by public broadcaster ARD indicated that Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, came in with just 5% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – the…