The right-wing nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which defends anti-immigration policies, received the most votes in the regional elections held this Sunday (1st) in the state of Thuringia, according to polls.
According to polls after the polls closed in the local elections, the AfD obtained just over 30% of the votes, while second place went to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), with around 24%.
The Left party, led by former local prime minister Bodo Ramelow, won just 12%, a far cry from the 31% it achieved five years ago.
The AfD’s chances of forming a government in the region, however, are still remote, as the other parties that ran and obtained significant results in this election ruled out the possibility of reaching an agreement with the party, which would place Björn Hocke, leader of the AfD, as local prime minister.
Ramelow, from A Esquerda, considered that, given the election results, the CDU candidate, Mario Voigt, who came in second place, should start talks to form a government.
Voigt, for his part, said he would first talk to the Social Democratic Party (SPD), although to form a government he would certainly also need the Sarah Wagenkenecht League, a new party that emerged from a split in the German left that represents positions somewhat aligned with the AfD on issues such as immigration but progressive on social issues.
In addition to the state of Thuringia, the AfD is also expected to achieve a good result in Saxony, also in eastern Germany, where it is in second place, according to projections, with 30.4%. In this state, the CDU is in first place with 31.5%.
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