Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under growing pressure after a string of election setbacks for his center-right CDU party, including defeat by the far-right AfD in Saxony-Anhalt and the party’s failure to clear the 5% threshold to enter parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Can he turn those setbacks around?

CDU Foreign Policy Spokesperson Jürgen Hardt says passing reforms on pensions, healthcare and bureaucracy will be key tests of the chancellor’s backing in parliament.