Candidate for State Premier of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Leif-Erik Holm (L) and co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Enrico Schult stand in front of a screen showing German Chancellor and leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz delivering a statement after the announcement of the first exit poll results on public television at the AfD's election party following Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania's state elections in Schwerin, north-eastern Germany on September 20, 2026. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)