The AfD is also expected to do well in the Brandenburg state elections to be held in three weeks.
Germans woke up to a new reality on Monday when the results of the state elections held over the weekend in eastern Germany began to be tallied. The AfD party, which is partly classified as far-right, won a historic landslide victory in the elections in Thuringia and Saxony.
In Thuringia, according to the preliminary results, the AfD clearly received the most votes, with a share of almost 33 percent. The vote share increased by more than 9 percentage points compared to the 2019 election.
In Saxony, the Christian Democrats narrowly retained first place with just under 32 percent of the vote, but the AfD collected more than 30 percent of the vote. In Saxony, the party increased its support by about 3 percentage points.
The parties of Germany’s Social Democrat-led government coalition received only one in ten votes in the state elections.
The security police have defined AfD as far-right in Thuringia and Saxony, but that did not hinder the party’s success.
Some voters in the state elections wanted change, and the AfD’s anti-immigration message, such as plans to deport immigrants, gained support.
AfD also scares and brings echoes from history
At the same time, many consider the party a threat to democracy.
For example, a voter interviewed by Reuters in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia Andre Wingert hoped that the other parties would now gather their strength against the AfD.
Another voter Steven Mahony said that because of Germany’s history, it feels bad to see the rise of a far-right party.
Also left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht the new BSW party got a good election result in Saxony and Thuringia.
BSW, which combines anti-immigration and leftism, received almost 16 percent of the vote.
AfD and BSW are on opposite sides of politics, but they are united by a similar line in relation to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, in addition to anti-immigration.
AfD and BSW talk about peace, which should include the lifting of sanctions against Russia and the end of support for Ukraine.
Difficult to fulfill election promises in the states
It is difficult for the AfD and BSW to deliver on their election promises, as the German federal government in Berlin makes major policies on immigration and negotiates the practical issues of immigration policy with the states.
The states also do not decide on support for Ukraine and foreign policy.
The AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW are particularly strong in eastern Germany, and their next show of strength will be the Brandenburg state election in less than three weeks.
There, too, the AfD might according to opinion polls become the largest party with around 25 percent support. About 17 percent support is promised for BSW.