The Left Party's main candidate for the Berlin state election Elif Eralp (C) reacts after the announcement of the first exit poll results on public television at the electoral evening event of Germany's The Left (Die Linke) party following Berlin's state elections in Festsaal Kreuzberg in Berlin on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Jens SCHLUETER / AFP via Getty Images)

The top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Simone Oldenburg in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State elections arrives 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)

The top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Simone Oldenburg in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State elections arrives 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)

AfD top candidate for Berlin Kristin Brinker (C) receives an applause and a bouquet of flowers as Co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel (L) reacts 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 RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty Images)

Die Linke (The Left) party members cheer with top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Elif Eralp (front C) after the announcement of the first exit poll results on public television at the electoral evening event of Germany's The Left (Die Linke) party following Berlin's state elections in Festsaal Kreutzer in Berlin on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Jens SCHLUETER / AFP via Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appears on a screen in a TV studio prior to 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)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appears on a screen in a TV studio prior to 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)

Supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party watch as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a televised address shown on public television after the release of the exit polls in the regional elections on September 20, 2026, in Schwerin in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made strong gains in two state elections, in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on September 20, according to exit polls by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF. (Photo by Gregor Fischer / AFP via Getty Images)