CDU holds its own in Saxony, but AfD is the biggest force in Thuringia’s state elections

September 1 () –

The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has won the regional elections in the state of Saxony with 31.5 percent of the vote, slightly ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD, 30 percent), while the far-right party has received the most votes in Thuringia (30.5 percent), with the CDU in second place (24.5 percent), according to an exit poll.

According to the Infratest Dimap survey for public broadcaster ARD, the CDU is now below its 2019 result (32.1 percent), in contrast to the AfD, which is gaining ground (27.5 percent in 2019).

Behind in both states is the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – For Reason and Justice (BSW), a party with a discourse that ranges from communist economic policy to the anti-immigration rhetoric of the AfD. In Saxony it would win 12 percent of the vote, while in Thuringia it would win 16 percent, according to the exit poll, pending official results.

In Saxony, the Social Democrats (SPD, 8.5 percent) are in fourth place, followed by the Greens (5.5 percent, more than three percentage points less than five years ago). The Left (4 percent) would be left out of the regional parliament.

In Thuringia, the Left is in fourth place with 12.5 percent of the vote, far from the 31 percent it had in 2019, when it was the largest political force. The SPD is said to have obtained 7 percent (8.2 percent in 2019) and the Greens are left without representation with 4 percent, below the minimum of 5 percent.