They were so frightened by the results in Thuringia and Saxony that the leaders of the big parties, from Merz to Scholz, through a plethora of ministers, all went to the Länder to support the traditional parties in an attempt to stop the advance of the far right in the former GDR. But they failed. The first Exit Poll confirm that Alternatives for Germanyas predicted by the polls, is by far the leading party.
Of course, the latest terrorist attack in Solingen, where an ISIS militant, an illegal immigrant, already expelled but still receiving an asylum seeker’s pension, killed three people at the town party for the 650th anniversary of his Foundation, did not favor the “traditional” parties. A large part of the political game in Thuringia and Saxony was played on immigration and it is clear that the AfD won its bet. In short, in two of the five eastern states, the sovereignist wave is rising.
AfD leader Björn Höck had made things clear in his latest rallies: “We want to decide in a sovereign way who we want to live with and who we don’t,” he said. “We don’t want a multicultural society. We want remigration. Germany’s interests come first.”
The collapse of Scholz and the SPD in the two Länder is sensational. The latest restrictive policies on migrants have been of no use. Of course: the AfD has no allies and therefore, in all likelihood, will not be able to govern even in the Länder where it emerged victorious. But the sensational result remains. That Germany cannot ignore.
Here is the data:
Thuringia
Afd: 30-31%
CDU: 25%
Link 13%
Spd: 7%
BSW 15%
FDP 1.5%
Saxony
CDU 31-32%
AfD 29-30%
Link 4%
Gray 5%
Spd 8%
BSW 12%
FDP 1%