The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) made significant gains in two German regional elections on September 1.
The AfD’s victory in Thuringia marks the first time a radical right-wing party has come close to forming a government in a German region.
In Saxony, the AfD stood second behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The AfD and BSW’s gains follow their notable presence in last year’s legislative elections in Bavaria and Hesse.
Both parties' success has intensified political dynamics ahead of Germany’s 2025 national elections.
Towards either extreme
The AfD polled over 30% of votes in Thuringia and Saxony, benefiting from internal conflicts in Chancellor Scholz’s coalition, xenophobia, and opposition to arms supplies to Ukraine.
The scars of German reunification continue to influence voters in eastern regions.
The federal government's 2023 push to replace gas and oil-fired boilers with renewable energy-powered heat pumps caused backlash, revealing divisions within the ruling coalition.
Right-wing resurgence and response
Bjorn Hocke, the AfD’s ethno-nationalist leader, has pushed the party towards ultra-nationalism, notorious for his attacks on Germany’s reckoning with its Nazi past.
Hocke's rhetoric, fueled by the refugee influx from Ukraine, advocates for migrant repatriation, a term that implies mass deportations.
Despite Scholz warning against alliances with the AfD, speculation about his coalition’s stability persists, possibly leading to snap elections.
The CDU has been ineffective in reducing AfD's poll ratings, despite adopting a conservative approach, including controversial policies like discouraging asylum seekers and transferring applicants to third countries.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has suggested Germany might follow the U.K.'s policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The way forward
The AfD’s victory in Thuringia challenges mainstream parties' stance of avoiding collaboration with them.
Sahra Wagenknecht of the BSW has been invited by the CDU to discuss a coalition in Thuringia, though internal opposition exists within both parties.
Wagenknecht has made controversial demands, such as canceling U.S.-Germany missile plans and pursuing diplomacy with Russia over Ukraine, which complicates negotiations.
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