Far-right German party to win first state vote since WWII

The pro-environment Green Party is projected to enter the new state parliament in Saxony, though just barely — they are expected to win 5.3-5.5% of the vote, scraping by the 5% threshold to qualify for seats in the assembly.

Green Party co-leader Omid Nouripour said there was still a chance for his party to continue participating in the Saxony state government.

In Thuringia, where the Greens are projected to stay below the 5% threshold, he said the party was in for a painful reckoning with the result.

But he also said that the lead of the far-right AfD in Thuringia is a cause for even bigger concern.

"To be honest, my pain tonight is marginal compared to the fact that we have a profound turning point and an openly far-right party has become the strongest force in a state parliament for the first time since 1949," he said.

Despite coming in second to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Thuringia, Germany's conservatives said they have a mandate to form the next government.

The leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Mario Voigt, said the election results signaled a need for political change in the state.

"As the CDU, we see this as an opportunity for political change under the leadership of the CDU," Voigt said in the state capital of Erfurt.

The CDU plans to lead coalition talks to form a "sensible government in Thuringia under the leadership of the CDU," Voigt said, adding that he would approach the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who are projected to finish in fifth place, while expressing openness to working with the new populist party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

Voigt reiterated his party's rejection to a coalition with the AfD.

The head of Saxony's state government, Michael Kretschmer, said his conservative CDU party was capable of remaining in power.

Exit polls from Sunday's elections give his party a thin lead over the far-right AfD.

The CDU has excluded building a coalition with the AfD. Without an absolute majority, the CDU will be forced to look for coalition partners among the remaining parties in the state parliament, including the BSW, the Greens, and the SPD. 

Kretschmer said the "coalition accord would be made for the state and for the people."

"It won't be easy," he said.

"But one thing is certain: with many discussions and the will to do something for this state, we can succeed in using this election result to give Saxony a stable government that serves the state and leads the way with humility," he added.

With the leftist-populist BSW projected to be third-strongest party in Thuringia, BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht hinted at seeking a coalition with the conservative CDU.

"We very much hope that we can eventually get a good government with the CDU — probably also with the [center-left] SPD," Wagenknecht told Germany's state broadcaster ARD.

Exit polls in the state's Sunday election put the CDU a distant second behind the far-right AfD. 

Wagenknecht once again dismissed the idea of ruling together with the AfD, and denounced radical leader Björn Höcke over his nationalistic worldview.

At the same time, Wagenknecht said the BSW would need to see changes in Germany's foreign policy before joining a state government. In line with her previous statements about pursuing talks over the Ukraine war, the leftist leader said there should be more "peace and diplomacy."

"This will be our conditions for a government," she said.

Radical AfD Thuringia leader Björn Höcke described the vote in his state as a "historic victory" after exit polls put his party far ahead.

"This fills me with so, so, so much pride and satisfaction," Höcke told his supporters in Thuringia's state capital, Erfurt.

"We are ready to take government responsibility," he added.

Höcke said his party is willing to invite other political factions for talks about forming a coalition, despite other major parties dismissing this possibility ahead of the vote.

The 52-year-old former history teacher has repeatedly drawn criticism with his statements about Germany's past, including calling a monument to Holocaust victims in Berlin a "monument of shame."

In 2019, a German court ruled that Höcke can legally be described as a "fascist."

The projected outcome of the ballots in Thuringia and Saxony is a "slap in the face" for the three parties in Germany's national government, according to a senior representative of the opposition conservative CDU party.

The ruling coalition parties "must ask themselves, how they can stop their disastrous policies," CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann told public broadcaster ZDF.

Before being ousted by Scholz's SPD with the backing of the Greens and the FDP in 2021, the conservative CDU was in power for 16 years under long-serving Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Talking to ZDF, Linnemann urged the return of politics for people, and called for a new federal government.

"It cannot go on like this," he said.

The co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, has described the outcome of the state election in Thuringia as a "clear mandate" to form government.

"We have, in Thuringia, a clear lead ... so we also have a clear mandate to govern," he told public broadcaster ZDF.

"That is also what democracy is," he added.

Chrupalla also said that his party was willing to talk to all other parties.

"For those who want to be credible while doing politics … and want to take voters' choices into account, there will be no more politics without AfD," he said.

Exit polls put the AfD on track to win around 31% of the vote in Thuringia, ahead of the CDU on 24%. All other parties have ruled out entering into a governing coalition with the AfD.

While populist parties were reinforced by the ballots in Thuringia and Saxony, the ruling center-left Social Democrats (SPD) looked set to stay on single digits, according to exit polls.

In Thuringia, the party of federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is projected to win 7% of the vote, or 1.2% of the vote less than in the previous state election.

In Saxony, the party managed to increase its previous score — but only by 0.8% of the vote, bringing it up to 8.5%.

The chancellor and his party have struggled to project stability with the coalition government that also includes the pro-environment Green party and the business-focused Free Democrats.

Exit polls put the Greens are the FDP behind the SPD in both elections.

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is set for a resounding victory in the eastern state of Thuringia, with exit polls giving them 30.5% of the vote, ahead of center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 24.5% and the upstart leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)with 16%.

In Saxony, the AfD is projected to win 30% of the vote to the CDU's 31.5% in a much tighter race. The BSW, led by Sahra Wagenknecht, is expected to win 12% of support.

The results put the AfD in prime position to participate in a state government for the first time in their history. However, other parties have said they would not enter coalitions with the anti-immigration party.

Even if other parties manage to form wide coalitions to keep the AfD out of power, the results of the Sunday vote are sure to leave the mainstream political factions shaken and raise questions about the national election next September.

Demonstrators have begun to gather outside the state parliament in Thuringia's capital, Erfurt, to take part in anti-AfD protests this evening.

Police say they expect some 2,500 people to participate.

One of the organizers told DW correspondent Matthew Moore that the goal of the gathering is to provide a space for people "who are frustrated, angry or scared."

"We're aware that everyone is talking about the AfD, but we want to show that there is another side of Thuringia. People who are in the majority, who are not going to give over their state to the far right," she said.

Thuringia resident Marianne Müller, who was attending the gathering with her grandson Vincent, was blunt in describing what she thinks an AfD victory would mean for the state.

"It would be a disaster. A troubling signal. Not just for Thuringia, but Germany and Europe," she told DW.

The leftist, populist BSW party is set to place third in both state races, according to pre-election polls. In Thuringia, BSW hovered around 17.5%, behind the far-right AfD with 31% and the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) with 22.5%.

In Saxony, it is expected to win around 13,5%, while both the CDU and AfD are projected to claim over 30% of the vote in a close race.

Placing third would still mark a major victory for firebrand politician Sahra Wagenknecht, who only founded the BSW in January 2024.

The leftist party is in favor of cutting immigration and pursuing peace talks in Ukraine, with many drawing parallels between its policy goals and the ones declared by the AfD. However, Wagenknecht has ruled out entering into a coalition with the AfD.

The leading candidate of the far-right AfD in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, did not speak to reporters as he cast his ballot on Sunday.

His AfD party has held a clear lead the polls in the leadup to the vote. On the eve of the election, Höcke suddenly, for "health reasons," pulled out of a roundtable discussion on TV featuring the leading candidates.

Thuringia state premier Bodo Ramelow of the Left party has also cast his ballot.

Ramelow told reporters he would fight for those who side with democracy and freedom. He also said the rise of the AfD is "not an isolated problem in Thuringia" and as such, not something that only happens in eastern parts of Germany.

Ramelow has remained a popular figure with many voters in Thuringia, but his Left party has fallen in the polls after former member Sahra Wagenknecht split from the party to form her own group, the BSW. 

The far-right Alternative for Germany party has a strong chance of winning the regional election underway in Thuringia. 

The eastern state's Jewish community, in particular, is alarmed.

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition has failed "to give the stability it sought out," Greens co-leader Ricarda Lang said.

Speaking to DW on Sunday, Lang said the ongoing elections in Thuringia and Saxony were significant on a national level for how they would affect eastern Germany.

"The traffic light coalition on a national level was not able to give the stability it sought out," Lang said, referring to Scholz's coalition, which includes the Social Democrats, the Greens and the business-focused Free Democrats. She added that this was in contrast to former Chancellor Angela Merkel's more stable era.

She acknowledged that the ruling coalition needed to do more to achieve stability.

Lang also said the elections pose the question of whether "right extremists and populists are going to gain state power." She expressed fear over climate policies, which she said could be negatively impacted by the results of the Sunday vote.

Voter turnout in Saxony's state elections appeared to be high, with a turnout of 25.8% by noon, the state statistical office reported. In 2019, the turnout by midday was 26.2%.

Those preliminary numbers don't include those who voted by mail. Projections are that 24.6% of eligible absentee voters have voted by mail. In 2019, that number was 16.9%.

Meanwhile, the Thuringians showed an even higher turnout. About 32% of eligible voters had cast their ballots by midday, according to state election officials in Erfurt. 

That was slightly higher than in 2019 (31.2%). Given the general trend of elections in recent years, a higher proportion of absentee voters is also expected.