Germany’s far-right AfD party secures victory in state election for first time
(MENAFN) Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured a historic victory in state elections, marking the first time a far-right party has won a state election since World War II. According to preliminary official results released on Sunday, the AfD garnered 32.8 percent of the vote in the state of Thuringia. The center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) followed with 23.6 percent, while the newly established left-wing populist party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) placed third with 15.8 percent.
In a notable setback, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) achieved one of their poorest election results in Thuringia, capturing only 6.1 percent of the vote. Their coalition partners, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats, did not meet the 5 percent threshold required for entry into the state parliament. This fragmentation means that no single party has secured a majority, and the AfD is unlikely to form a government as all other parties have ruled out coalition partnerships with it.
AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel praised her party’s performance as a “historical success” and claimed that voters have expressed dissatisfaction with Scholz’s coalition government. She urged the CDU and other parties to reconsider their positions and engage in coalition discussions with the AfD, arguing that the party represents about 30 percent of voters in both Thuringia and the neighboring state of Saxony. Weidel contended that without the AfD’s participation, forming a stable government would be challenging.
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