German ultra-right wins its first regional election, Afd first party in Thuringia
The German ultra-right Afd achieved a clear victory in the regional elections in Thuringia, while the government parties suffered a heavy defeat. The Cdu remains the only traditional party to hold out. Head-to-head in Saxony. Boom of Sahra Wagenknecht's red-browns
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Key points
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Historic success of the German far-right in the elections in eastern Germany: Afd is on its way to a clear victory in Thuringia with almost 33% (up from 23.4% in 2019), according to projections by German public broadcasters. This is the first triumph of a far-right party in a state since World War II, although it is highly unlikely that it will be able to form an executive. In Saxony, it is neck and neck with the Cdu: projections give the Christian Democrats, who have led the Land since 1990, at 32% (stable compared to 2019), about one point ahead of Afd (which was at 27.5).
Voter turnout was high, around 74%.
The traffic light coalition goes out
.According to the projections, the parties of the government led by Olaf Scholz are taking a beating: all together they poll less than 15% in the two states. The chancellor's SPD is projected at 6.5% in Thuringia (down from 8.2% in 2019) and 7.5% in Saxony (down from 7.7%). The Greens, never particularly popular in the East, are below 4% in Thuringia (and exiting parliament, they were at 5.2% in 2019) and around 5% in Saxony (from 8.6%). The liberals of the Fdp collapse to 1% in both Länder. (They were at 4.5% in Saxony and 5% in Thuringia).
Although the electoral trends in eastern Germany are very different from the rest of the country, one year before the national elections, the pressure is mounting on Scholz and his policies on immigration and support for Ukraine, issues that have dominated the election campaign, especially after the Solingen bombing on 23 August, which has already prompted Berlin to a crackdown on asylum and expulsions.
Among the traditional parties, only the Cdu is holding. In Thuringia, again according to projections, it is second at around 24% (up from 21.7%). In Saxony, it is above 31%.
