Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig attends a TV debate at the television studio of ARD in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig attends a TV debate at the television studio of ARD in Schwerin on September 20, 2026, after regional elections in the northeastern federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. (Photo by Marcus Brandt / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig drinks water during 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)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig speaks during 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)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig attends 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)

(L-R) Top candidate of the left-wing Die Linke (The Left) party Simone Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig, the candidate for State Premier of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Leif-Erik Holm and TV host Thilo Tautz attend 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)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig talks to passers-by before 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 / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's State Premier and top candidate of the social democratic SPD party Manuela Schwesig talks to passers-by before 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 / dpa Pool / AFP via Getty Images)