Polls opened on Sunday morning in the eastern German state of Brandenburg with the AfD predicted to oust Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in a traditional stronghold.
The AfD (Alternative for Germany) became the first far-right party
to win a regional election in Germany since World War II when they triumphed in Thuringia on 1 September. They came a close second in Saxony in an election held concurrently. All three states are in the former East Germany with Brandenburg bordering on Poland.
The AfD campaigns on economic concerns, fears over immigration, and the war in Ukraine. If it wins in Brandeburg, it is unlikely to control the regional parliament as polls suggest it will fail to secure a working majority. Other parties have refused to work with the AfD.
A win for AfD in Brandenburg will be seen as a humiliation for the SPD, which has controlled the state since reunification in 1990. It would also heighten concerns about Scholz’s position as party leader and chancellor. He is Germany’s most unpopular leader on record.
According to opinion polls cited by Reuters, the AfD could count on 28% of the vote on Thursday with the SPD just one point behind having closed the gap in recent weeks. The SPD was followed by the conservatives on 14% and a new far-left party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, on 13%.
The SPD’s ruling coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats, look set to struggle to cross the 5% threshold needed to take seats in the regional assembly.
The AfD campaigns on economic concerns, fears over immigration, and the war in Ukraine. If it wins in Brandeburg, it is unlikely to control the regional parliament as polls suggest it will fail to secure a working majority. Other parties have refused to work with the AfD.
A win for AfD in Brandenburg will be seen as a humiliation for the SPD, which has controlled the state since reunification in 1990. It would also heighten concerns about Scholz’s position as party leader and chancellor. He is Germany’s most unpopular leader on record.
According to opinion polls cited by Reuters, the AfD could count on 28% of the vote on Thursday with the SPD just one point behind having closed the gap in recent weeks. The SPD was followed by the conservatives on 14% and a new far-left party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, on 13%.
The SPD’s ruling coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats, look set to struggle to cross the 5% threshold needed to take seats in the regional assembly.
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