For the first time since World War II, a far-right party in Germany won a state election on Sunday, delivering a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured the majority of votes in Thuringia, surpassing the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), making it the first far-right party to win a state election after World War II.
In Thuringia, the AfD received 32.8% of the votes compared to 23.6% for the CDU.
Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) garnered only 6.1% of the votes, according to polls by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen.
Alice Weidel, the national co-leader of the AfD, stated, “This is a historic success for us.”
Other parties have said they will not join the AfD, but the party’s strength, as demonstrated in this election, will make it challenging to form new state governments and may force other parties into coalitions, according to the Associated Press.
The results are alarming for Scholz just one year before Germany’s national elections. He may have to take a tougher stance on immigration and speak more about the war between Russia and Ukraine, issues that dominated this campaign, according to Reuters.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert said the results show that they will need to “assert themselves more strongly” and “not allow themselves to be overshadowed by parties that were just expelled from the state parliament,” as reported by the news agency.
The AfD did not perform as well in the Saxony elections, receiving around 30.6% of support compared to the CDU’s 31.9%, according to the Associated Press.
Another state election is scheduled for September 22 in eastern Brandenburg. Scholz’s party is leading there, but if the AfD wins again, it could increase the embarrassment.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Scholz described the election results as bitter. He added that the SPD rallied and conducted a good campaign.
Scholz said, “The results of the AfD in Thuringia and Saxony are concerning. Our country cannot get used to this.” He added, “The AfD is harming Germany. “It hurts our economy, pulls our society apart, and harms the reputation of our country.”