In a historic first for post-World War II Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured a decisive victory in the eastern state of Thuringia, garnering 32.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s regional elections. This triumph marks the first time a far-right party has won a state election in Germany since 1949.
The AfD’s success in Thuringia significantly outpaced the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which secured 23.6 percent of the vote. Despite this victory, the AfD is unlikely to form a government due to the anticipated cooperation among rival parties to exclude them from power.
In neighboring Saxony, the AfD also performed strongly, with projections indicating support levels of 30.6-30.7 percent, narrowly trailing the CDU’s 31.9 percent. These results underscore substantial gains for the AfD in both states compared to the 2019 elections.
Bjoern Hoecke, a prominent AfD leader known for his controversial rhetoric against immigrants and Islam, expressed pride in the party’s performance and readiness to assume governing responsibilities. Omid Nouripour, a leader of the Greens, voiced concern over the AfD’s rise, noting the deep apprehension it has caused among many Germans.
The left-populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which shares some policy stances with the AfD, came third in both states but underperformed compared to earlier polls.
The election results are expected to exacerbate tensions within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government. Although Scholz’s Social Democrats managed to clear the 5 percent threshold in both states, coalition partners such as the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats face uncertainty.
Despite winning a significant portion of seats in Thuringia’s legislature, the AfD is unlikely to come to power due to other parties’ refusal to cooperate with them. Alice Weidel, the national co-leader of the AfD, hailed the victory as a “historic success” and a “requiem” for Scholz’s coalition.
Reporting from Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane noted that the AfD’s win in Thuringia is a personal mandate for Hoecke, though his party remains isolated from potential governing coalitions. Kane also highlighted the increased voter turnout and the rightward shift in both states.
The elections in Thuringia and Saxony occurred just over a week after a knife attack that reignited debates over immigration in Germany. Saxony, the most populous of the former East German states, has been a conservative stronghold since reunification. Thuringia, more rural, is currently led by the far-left Die Linke, a successor to East Germany’s ruling communist party.
Voters in these states, some of whom lived under communism 35 years ago, expressed mixed feelings about the AfD’s rise. Sandra Pagel, a resident of Erfurt, voiced her fears about an AfD victory, while Naila Kiesel, from Jena, hoped for a democratic coalition.
The AfD, initially formed in 2013 as an anti-euro group, has since evolved into an anti-immigration party, capitalizing on the fractious three-way coalition in Berlin to gain traction in opinion polls.
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