What happened Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is on track to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in the country since World War II, two exit polls showed, although it has little hope of forming a government.
The AfD was projected to win 33.1% of the vote in the state of Thuringia, well ahead of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) at 24.3%. In Saxony, which also held a regional election yesterday, the two parties are neck and neck, according to state broadcaster ZDF. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is projected to return disappointing results in both states.
Who said what The result represented a "historic victory", said the AfD's top candidate in Thuringia Björn Höcke, who is a "highly controversial figure in Germany", said the BBC. The vote "breaks a political taboo in place since the fall of the Nazis", said The Times.
What next? Despite its win AfD is "almost certain to be excluded from power by rival parties", said Al Jazeera. More importantly, the results are "seen by many as a litmus" test for Scholz and his coalition partners ahead of next year's general elections, said CNN. Scholz's alliance is now "creaking, with infighting and disagreements about policy". AfD co-chair Alice Weidel (pictured above) said the results in Thuringia demonstrated Germany's "rejection" of Scholz's coalition government. |