Opinion polls showed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats narrowly ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on Sunday in regional elections in the former East German state of Brandenburg.
The Social Democrats won 31 to 32 percent of the vote, narrowly ahead of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, which won 29 to 30 percent, according to two polls by the two main public broadcasters.
Elections in Brandenburg are closely watched because the Social Democratic Party has ruled the state since German reunification in 1990 and because Chancellor Scholz’s constituency is in the state capital, Potsdam.
The German Chancellor expressed his satisfaction with the results of the Brandenburg state parliament elections.
“Good, of course,” Scholz, who is in New York for UN meetings, said when asked about his expectations for the election outcome. Sources close to Scholz said the chancellor was “quite satisfied” with the results.
The Alternative for Germany party, which rejects asylum seekers and multiculturalism, had hoped to repeat its recent electoral success in the east of the country.
Three weeks ago, the party surprised the ruling coalition by coming first in the eastern state of Thuringia for the first time ever, and coming in a close second in neighbouring Saxony.
Despite its success at the ballot box, the AfD is unlikely to take power in any state, as all other major parties have so far ruled out entering into a governing coalition with it.
Brandenburg state Prime Minister Dietmar Woedke, 62, has pledged to resign from his post of more than a decade if the AfD wins.
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