For the first time since 1945 a German far-right party is projected to win in regional elections, exit polls show.
Founded in 2013, far-right Alternative für Deutschland – or Alternative for Germany (AfD) – is on track to claim victory in state parliamentary elections in the country’s eastern region of Thuringia, initial exit polls by German state broadcaster ZDF show.
AfD is projected to get 33.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative party Christian Democrats (CDU) with 24.5%, according to ZDF.
In Saxony, which also held a regional election Sunday, the two parties are neck and neck, according to state broadcaster ZDF.
Newly founded left-wing party, the Sarah Wagenknecht alliance – or BSW – looks to be coming in third in both Thuringia and Saxony, where roughly 1.7 million people and 3.3 million were eligible to vote, respectively.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is projected to get disappointing results in both states.
The local elections results in Thuringia and Saxony are seen by many as a litmus test for Scholz and his coalition partners ahead of next year’s general elections. While the AfD has put immigration front and center of its agenda, the coalition built by Scholz is creaking, with infighting, disagreements about policy and accusations that elected officials no longer represent the values they were initially elected for.
AfD co-chair Alice Weisel called the results in Thuringia a “historic success,” reflecting the people’s “rejection” of Scholz’s coalition government.
“This is an even stronger result than in the last elections and, accordingly, we will of course emerge stronger from the elections,” she said.
“It is a rejection of this coalition and they should ask themselves whether they can continue to govern at all. The question should be raised for new elections. Because it can’t go on like this,” she added.
AfD would very unlikely be able to form a regional government, struggling to find allies in other parties.
Branches of the AfD are classified as suspected right-wing extremist by Germany’s intelligence agency and the party’s top candidate in Thuringia, Björn Höcke has been fined twice for using a Nazi slogan.
Regional elections take place every five years in Germany and each state can have their election at various dates. The German state of Brandenburg is set to head to the polls on September 22.
