Several hundred thousand people demonstrated again across Germany against the far-right AfD party this weekend. A local vote in an Alternative for Germany stronghold in Thuringia on Sunday was a test. Like six months ago in another nearby canton, was the AfD going to win these elections? In the first round, the far-right candidate came close to victory. He had to bow this Sunday, January 28.
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With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
The Christian Democratic candidate has come a long way. Christian Herrgott increased his score from the first round two weeks ago by almost twenty points. The postponement of other left-wing competitors, but also the mobilization of civil society will have enabled this victory. The CDU candidate won with 52.4% of the votes.
First round favorite Uwe Thrum of the AfD only marginally improved his score. The party leader in Thuringia who heads the most radical wing of the Alternative for Germany, Björn Höcke, blamed the national mobilization against his party for the failure of his candidate. The party is under pressure after revelations about a discreet meeting where the expulsion of millions of migrants, but also Germans, was discussed. The AfD has since fallen in national polls.
In Thuringia, stronghold of the far-right movement, this local election was a test. Officials from other parties expressed relief. But we will have to wait for more important elections, the European and three regional elections in September, for the AfD’s current difficulties to persist. The party remains at a high level. It continues to register new memberships and the number of its members could increase from 40,000 to 60,000 by the end of the year.
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