German far-right AfD wins regional elections in Thuringia and comes second in Saxony

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has achieved first place in the regional elections of Thuringia and the second in Saxonyboth eastern German states, trailing behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), according to exit polls.

In Thuringia the AfD obtained 30.5% of the votes followed by the CDU with 24.6%the Sahra Wagenknecht League (BSW) with 16%the Left with 12.0% and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 12%.

This is the first time that The AfD is the party with the most votes in a federal state although its chances of forming a government are remote due to the cordon sanitaire around the party.

In Saxony CDU gets 31.5%, the AfD 30%, the BSW a 12%, the SPD 8.5% and the Greens 5.5%.

Government formation in the two federal states It will be difficult according to the first results.

The opposition conservatives in Germany were slightly ahead of the far right in an election in the eastern state of Saxony on Sunday, half a percentage point ahead of the Alternative for Germany, according to an exit poll by broadcaster ZDF.

The Christian Democrats (CDU), who have governed Saxony since reunification more than 30 years agoseemed ready to secure 32% of the votes compared to 32.1% in 2019.

But the AfD was very close, with 31.5% in the ZDF exit pollcompared with 27.5% in 2019, while the populist newcomer Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was in third place with 11.5%. An exit poll by rival broadcaster ARD gave the conservatives a slightly larger lead.

Difficult coalition

The AfD was on track on Sunday to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in Germany since World War II, exit polls show. But it is almost certain that he will not get alliances to form a government.

Despite the difficulty of forming a coalition, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Thuringia, Bjorn Hockeclaimed this Sunday the right to form a government in that federal state after the first polls showed his party as the group with the most votes.

“It seems that We are the first in Thuringia, We have achieved a historic result“For the first time, we are the largest parliamentary force,” Höcke told the German national television channel ARD.

The leader of the AfD He is considered the visible head of the most radical wing from AfD.

“The traditional parties They must show humility and accept the result. People have voted and said they wanted change and this will only happen with the AfD. People are fed up with people talking about a cordon sanitaire against us“, he added.

At the beginning of the interview, Höcke had a small ‘brush-off’ with the interviewer when he reminded him that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers AfD a clear case of the far right.

“Stop stigmatising us, a third of the people in Thuringia voted for us. You’re not going to consider a third of voters as far-right“, he replied.

However, the AfD’s chances of forming a government are remote, unless it is a party break the cordon sanitaire that has been imposed.

The only party that could agree to a coalition with AfD, although it is unlikely and they have denied that they will do so, would be the new left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which like the AfD demands stricter controls on immigration and wants stop the arms from Ukraine.

Wagenknecht came in third place in both states, according to the poll, although it had significantly lower performance to previous surveys.

Government possibilities

Other possibilities for forming a government would be, according to the current president of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelows, with the CDU candidateMario Voigt, who has called on him to start talks to this end.

Voigt, for his part, He said he would first speak with the Social Democratic Party. (SPD) although it would probably also need Sarah Wagenknecht’s BSW to form a government.

Prelude to the 2025 elections?

With one year left until Germany’s national elections, The results appear to be harsh for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalitionalthough its Social Democrats appear to have surpassed the 5% threshold to remain in the parliaments of both states.

However, its coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats, appeared less confident in both parliaments, in a development that could foreshadow further More conflicts in Scholz’s already fractured coalition government.

All parties, including the BSW which shares some ideals with the far right, They have promised not to allow an AfD into the coalition which they consider anti-democratic and extremist.