Friedrich Merz and the CDU secured 31 percent of the vote in Rhineland-Palatinate, ending thirty-five years of SPD governance.While Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas refused to resign despite the SPD falling to 25.9 percent, the FDP announced a leadership overhaul.The far-right
AfD surged to 19.5 percent in the regional election as
Gordon Schnieder begins coalition talks to form a new government.