Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig talks to passers-by before a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig talks to passers-by before a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

(L-R) Top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Simone Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig, the candidate for State Premier of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Leif-Erik Holm and TV host Thilo Tautz attend a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

(L-R) Top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Simone Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig and the candidate for State Premier of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Leif-Erik Holm attend a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig attends a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Top candidate of the Greens party Claudia Mueller attends a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Kristin Brinker is pictured after the announcement of the first exit poll results on public television at the electoral evening event of the Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party following Berlin's state elections in the House of Representatives in Berlin on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty Images)

The top co-candidates of the pro-Russian left-wing BSW party Peter Schabbel and Sabine Firnhaber arrive for a TV debate at the television studio in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)