Far-right party in Germany wins in state elections, triggering widespread attention

On September 1 local time, state parliamentary elections were held in Thuringia and Saxony in eastern Germany. The results were shocking. The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) ranked first in Thuringia with a support rate of 32.8%. This is the first time the party has won a federal state parliamentary election since its establishment in 2013 and also the first time a far-right party has won in a German state election since World War II. In Saxony, the AfD came in second with 30.6% of the vote, just behind the CDU's 31.9%.

In this election, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) of the German governing coalition all saw a significant reduction in votes in both states. In Thuringia, the SPD only got 6.1%. The Green Party and the FDP did not even reach the 5% support rate threshold required to enter the state parliament. In Saxony, the SPD got 7.3% of the vote, the Green Party got 5.1%, and the FDP also performed poorly.

The AfD called its victory in Thuringia a “historic moment”. Although the party did not win a majority of seats and most other mainstream parties mostly refuse to form an alliance with it, making it difficult for it to form a state government, it can still have an impact on legislation and other aspects.

This result has triggered widespread attention in Germany and the international community. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz bluntly said that the election results are “painful” and said that Germany cannot and should not get used to the rise of far-right parties, saying that it will damage the country, weaken the economy and divide society. Some ***yses believe that the election results highlight the dissatisfaction of local voters with Germany's mainstream parties and reflect the dissatisfaction of German people with issues such as high inflation, economic stagnation, soaring energy costs, continuous infighting and the development gap between the east and west. At the same time, a knife attack occurred in Solingen city a week ago. The suspect is Syrian. This incident may have strengthened the momentum of the anti-immigration AfD at the last moment. The immigration issue has also become the focus of voters.

As Germany is about to usher in a general election next year, the results of this state election are undoubtedly a major blow to the governing coalition. It may also exacerbate the infighting within the governing coalition. The future direction of the German political situation is full of uncertainties. The international community is also closely watching its follow-up development and its possible impact on the European political landscape.