Germany's far-right AfD has won Sunday's election in Thuringia, in the east, by a landslide and is trailing the conservatives in Saxony, unprecedented scores for the party.
This is another heavy blow to Olaf Scholz's fragile coalition. Germany's far-right AfD won in large part on Sunday elections in Thuringia, in the east of the country, and close to the conservatives in Saxony, unprecedented scores for this party.
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The trial votes in these two regions of the former GDR, electoral strongholds of the extreme right, took place in a particularly tense context, more than a week after the triple knife murder attributed to a Syrian in Solingen, which shook the country and reignited a heated debate over immigration.
In Thuringia, one of the smallest German states where the far right is led by Björn Höcke, one of its most radical figures, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is largely in the lead (30.5 to 33.5 %), ahead of the CDU conservatives (24.5%), according to the first polls following the closure of polling stations broadcast by public television ARD and ZDF.
In Saxony, the CDU conservatives have a slight lead (31.5 to 32%), closely followed by the AfD (30 to 31.5%).
Discovery of the BSW party
A newcomer, the BSW party of former far-left muse Sahra Wagenknecht, makes a spectacular breakthrough, credited with scores between 12 and 16% in the two Länder, and could present as a director within the party.
AfD's victory in Thuringia is a first in the country since the post-war period, even though the party is unlikely to lead the region, with all other parties rejecting any coalition with it.
Both AfD and BSW have attracted attention with their virulent anti-immigration speeches and calls for an end to arms deliveries to Ukraine, a very popular position in these regions of the former communist GDR where fear of war remains deeply rooted.
Sanction against the Scholz government
The first results also confirm another major setback for the chancellor's coalition government with the Greens and the FDP liberals, a year before the 2025 legislative elections.
His Social Democratic Party (SPD), already at a low level in the previous term, scored between 6.5 and 8.5%. The Greens are leaving the Thuringian parliament, and the FDP liberals would no longer be represented in any of the regional assemblies. These Länder, which have important prerogatives in the German system in terms of education or security, could be governed by large heterogeneous alliances that associate right and left.
AfD leaders sought to capitalize on the shock of the attack on Solingen, a town in western Germany, accusing successive federal governments of sowing “chaos”. The alleged attacker, suspected of links with the Islamic State (IS) jihadist organization, had managed to escape an expulsion decision. Under pressure, the Scholz government announced a tightening of gun rules and immigration controls.
The radicalization of the AfD
The AfD party, essentially Eurosceptic when it was created in 2013, became radicalized after the great migration crisis of 2015, the Covid-19 pandemic and then the Russian war in Ukraine, which weakened Europe's largest economy and caused inflation to rise.
He has achieved several electoral successes in recent months, achieving the best score in his history in the European elections in June.
The former GDR has proven fertile ground for the party, due to persistent inequalities since reunification in 1990 and a deep demographic crisis linked to young people leaving for other regions despite new economic appeal.