Germany’s embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to stay in office and fight for future-proofing economic changes despite heavy losses for his conservatives in two state elections, one to the far right and the other to a leftwing party.

Axar.az reports, citing The Guardian, preliminary results indicated Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) tallied just 4.9%, below ⁠the 5% threshold needed to enter the state parliament and indicating they may be excluded altogether.

The anti-immigration, Kremlin-friendly Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party extended a streak of strong showings by coming in first in the former communist region with 38.3%, more than doubling its previous score, according to projections on ARD public television.

The deeply unpopular Merz has been fighting for his political survival after a humiliating series of setbacks with voters this year.

In a rare speech on a state election night, Merz admitted the CDU had been bitterly deprived of “tailwinds from Berlin” in both of Sunday’s races. But he said he would remain chancellor and party chair and continue a reform drive on fronts including taxes, healthcare, pensions and reducing bureaucracy.