Thuringia, a small eastern German state, was at the centre of national attention on the 27th of October as citizens went to the polls to elect their representatives in the Landtag (parliament).
The Result
Die Linke (The Left) made history by winning the most votes, becoming the first left-wing party to win a state election in Germany since 1990, however, the electoral gains recorded by Alternative for Germany (AfD) will not make forming a government any easier for them.
Prior to this election, the state was being led by a coalition government of Die Linke, the social democrats (SPD) and the Greens, whose number of seats (and support) totalled 46, the exact number needed for a majority. The result of this election, however, makes this status quo impossible to maintain.
Like Thuringia, like Saxony and Brandenburg
In September, the party recorded similar electoral gains in the eastern states of Saxony and Brandenburg, surging to second place in both state elections.
The six-year-old AfD has seen a steady increase in support since its formation. It entered the national parliament (Bundestag) for the first time in 2017 where it is now the biggest opposition party and currently has representatives in all 16 German states’ Landtag.
The party has been described as a right-wing extremist party and has been linked with neo-Nazism. The Thuringia branch of the party is noted to be the most radical wing having Bjorn Hocke as its regional leader, a man whose rhetoric has been likened to that of Adolf Hilter’s.
Warning Signals To Berlin
The election was largely focused on as the bellwether of the AfD’s rise in Germany. As in other states, the anti-establishment AfD’s rise has tumbled the popularity of Germany’s ruling parties. Thuringia has historically been a stronghold of the Christian Democrats (CDU), who fell to third place in this election.
The policy drift of the conservative CDU under Chancellor Angela Merkel has swayed support toward the anti-immigration AfD. According to Deutsche Welle, the party has sunk so low in national polls that it would likely win fewer seats in the event of a new election.
Thus, the onus falls on party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to regain public trust if the party is to stay in power and if she is to have any chance in succeeding Chancellor Merkel who plans to retire in 2021.
