German Far-Right Party Wins Its First State Election

A far-right party has won a state election for the first time in post-World War II Germany in the country's east.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 32.8% of the vote in Thuringia, well ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). I Photo: AfD Offenbach-Land - Alternative für Deutschland Facebook

The party also looked set to finish a very close second to mainstream conservatives in a separate vote, the Associated Press reported.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 32.8% of the vote in Thuringia, well ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the main national opposition party, which garnered 23.6%.

In Saxony, projections from ARD and ZDF public television, with the count nearly completed, placed the CDU at 31.9% and AfD at 30.6–30.7%. AfD made significant gains in Thuringia and smaller ones in Saxony compared to the previous elections in 2019.

"An openly right-wing extremist party has become the strongest force in a state parliament for the first time since 1949, causing many people deep concern and fear," said Omid Nouripour, a leader of the Greens.

Other parties have stated they will not form coalitions with AfD. Despite this, AfD's strength is likely to complicate the formation of new state governments, forcing other parties into unconventional coalitions.

The newly founded Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) took 15.8% of the vote in Thuringia and nearly 12% in Saxony.

While the CDU has long refused to work with the Left Party, which descends from East Germany's ruling communists, it has not ruled out working with Wagenknecht’s BSW, which is also strongest in the East.

However, the CDU still cannot form a majority coalition in Thuringia's legislature without the Left Party.