German elections: far-right party breaks through in Thuringia and is second party in Saxony. Scholz: “Bitter results”

Elections in Germany: for the first time in its history the far-right party Alternative for Germany (Afd) wins the regional elections

For the first time in its history, The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a regional electionestablishing itself as the largest party in the eastern state of Thuringia with around 33% of the vote. In neighbouring Saxony, the AfD is the second largest party, just behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The parties in the governing coalition, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Liberal Democrats (FDP), suffered a clear defeat.

According to the preliminary results released after the counting of the votes, In Thuringia, the AfD won 32.8% of the votes, followed by the CDU with 23.6%, while Sahra Wagenknecht’s left-wing party (BSW) won 15.8% of the votes.. The Social Democrats managed to enter parliament with 6.1 percent of the vote, while the Greens and the FDP failed to pass the 5 percent threshold. In Saxony, the CDU is the leading party with 31.9 percent of the vote, while the AfD received 30.6 percent, followed by the BSW with 11.8 percent. The Social Democrats received 7.3 percent and the Greens 5.1 percent. As soon as the results were released, AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla told broadcaster ZDF: “One thing is very clear: the will of the voters is for a change in politics. We have a clear mandate to govern in Thuringia.”

The leader of the AfD in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, is considered one of the most radical representatives of his party.convicted twice in 2024 for using a banned Nazi slogan at election rallies. As Deutsche Welle reports, the AfD’s main demand concerns immigration policy: during the election campaign, the party called for the mass expulsion of refugees. “We are the number one party in Thuringia,” Höcke told public broadcaster ARD shortly after the election results were announced, announcing his intention to contact possible coalition partners. However, the AfD is likely to remain in opposition, as all other parties have ruled out any direct cooperation with the far-right party.

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholzdefined the results of the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony which saw the clear affirmation of the far-right AfD (respectively first and second force in the two eastern Laender) “bitter” and “worrying”. “Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz said, as reported by the Guardian, adding that the worst predictions, that his Social Democrats from the SPD could walk out of a state parliament for the first time, had not materialised.