Hard-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the first of its ilk to win in the nation since the Second World War, exit polls showed.
AfD took between 30.5% and 33.5% of the vote in the former East German state of Thuringia, with the conservative CDU coming in second place with 24.5% of the vote.
Thuringia, a rural region and the only state currently led by the far-left Die Linke, a successor of East Germany’s ruling communist party, was one of two to hold regional elections today, ahead of national elections in 2025, with AfD nearly winning in neighbouring Saxony, a conservative stronghold that is the largest in former East Germany, as well the polls showed.
While the party is unlikely to come to power in either state, as other parties have vowed to coalesce to force the far-right out of power, the result is reflective of the party’s growing popularity.
Bjoern Hoecke, the controversial head of the AfD in Thuringia, told the ARD broadcaster his party was the ‘people’s party in Thuringia’.
‘We need change and change will only come with the AfD,’ he said, hailing the ‘historic result’.
Bjorn Hocke (pictured), member of Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), looks on after first exit polls in the Thuringia state elections
A protestor wears a sticker against the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) during a demonstration after first exit polls in the Thuringia state elections in Erfurt, Germany
Hard-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the first of its ilk to win in the nation since the Second World War (File image)
Hoecke is one of Germany’s most controversial far-right politicians and was fined twice this year for deliberately using a banned Nazi slogan.
Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the AfD, hailed the result as a ‘historic success’, while the party’s other co-leader, Tino Chrupalla, said the party had a ‘clear mandate for government’ in Thuringia.
Chrupalla said both states had sent the message that ‘there should be a change of politics’ and the AfD was ‘ready and willing to talk to all parties’.
The contests in Thuringia and Saxony come just over a week after three people were killed in a suspected Islamist knife attack in the western city of Solingen, which has fuelled a bitter debate over immigration in Germany.
The alleged attacker, a 26-year-old Syrian man with suspected links to the Islamic State group, was slated for deportation but evaded attempts by authorities to remove him.
The government has sought to respond to the alarm by announcing stricter knife controls and rules for migrants in Germany illegally.
Tonight’s exit polls also showed a good night for BSW, a new party founded by the firebrand politician Sahra Wagenknecht after she quit the far-left Die Linke.
Bjorn Hocke, member of Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) climbs up the stairs after first exit polls in the Thuringia state elections
Activists hold banners during a protest against far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) party and its top candidate for regional elections in Thuringia
BSW scored between 14.5 and 16 percent in Thuringia and between 11.5 and 12 percent in Saxony, according to the polls.
Wagenknecht’s party has appealed to voters in eastern Germany with a dovish stance towards Russia and calls for a radical crackdown on immigration.
The party scored an immediate success in June’s European elections, hauling in around six percent of the German vote.
Other parties’ refusal to work with the AfD potentially leaves BSW as the kingmaker in Thuringia and Saxony, despite serious policy disagreements with potential partners, especially on Ukraine.
Scholz’s coalition partners, the Greens and the FDP, had a dismal night in both states, scoring even less than the SPD.
A third former East German state, Brandenburg, is also due to hold an election later in September, where polls have the AfD ahead on around 24 percent.
Created in 2013 as an anti-euro group before morphing into an anti-immigration party, the AfD has capitalised on the fractious three-way coalition in Berlin to rise in opinion polls.
In June’s EU parliament elections, the party scored a record 15.9 percent overall and did especially well in eastern Germany, where it emerged as the biggest force.