A right-wing populist party in Germany celebrated a “historic success” in two state elections Sunday.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party outdistanced Germany’s three governing parties and the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) by taking nearly one-third of the vote in the eastern state of Thuringia, according to the BBC. AfD finished second to the CDU in Saxony by about a point, but led the third place party, left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW, by about 20.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said, “Without us a stable government is no longer possible at all,” according to the BBC. Weidel added that the victory was a “requiem” for Germany’s ruling parties since voters wanted the AfD in government.
Central to the AfD’s as well as the BSW’s message was Germany’s immigration crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Both parties did well at the polls, with the AfD taking 30.6% of the vote and BSW gaining 11.8% in Saxony, according to the BBC.
A knife attack in late August committed by a Syrian asylum seeker killed three and injured eight, according to the Wall Street Journal. It was one of Germany’s most deadly recent terrorist attacks. (RELATED: ROOKE: Wondering Why Europe Is Turning ‘Right-Wing’? Look No Further Than A Girl’s Plea For Help)
German far right hails ‘historic’ election victory in east https://t.co/mS2vyE8dLS
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 2, 2024
A survey by German broadcaster ZDF found that of the five million Germans who voted in the east Sunday, 36% of under-30s in Thuringia cast their vote for the AfD, a larger percentage than for any other party by far, according to the BBC.
Right-wing and populist parties have fared well across Europe in recent years, especially in Italy and Slovakia where they are the dominant parties, but also in Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands where they are part of ruling coalitions, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Left-party state premier of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, said the election was marred by fear and that he was “fighting against the normalization of fascism,” according to the BBC.
