00:01Germans are voting on Sunday in two-state elections where far-right and far-left gains could send fresh shockwaves
00:08through Berlin and rock the government of embattled Chancellor Friedrich Mertz.
00:13Millions of voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Berlin, where Mertz's Christian Democratic Union is vying to hold
00:19on to power, and a separate election taking place in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
00:25Housing, rent prices, transport, and public safety are among the main issues shaping the election campaign in the capital.
00:32The race in Mecklenburg, which locals call Meckpalm, is also closely contested where the CDU is fighting to simply stay
00:40in state parliament.
00:43Mertz has cleared his schedule to monitor the election results in an emergency meeting he convened with his CDU colleagues,
00:49and even canceled plans to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.
00:54Polls suggest the far-right AFD, which dealt a crucial defeat to the CDU two weeks ago in state elections
01:01in Saxony-Anhalt, will make some gains, though they're unlikely to come within reach of power in either state.
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