German far-right set for wins in key polls after attack
The Hindu
Elections in East Germany expected to boost far-right AfD, challenge Chancellor Scholz, and shape national politics.
Voters in two former East German states go to the polls Sunday (September 1, 2024) in elections expected to deal a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government and deliver big gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The polls in Thuringia and Saxony come just over a week after three people were killed in a suspected Islamist attack, which has fuelled a bitter debate over immigration in Germany.
Opinion polls have the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead in Thuringia and a close second in Saxony, while also predicting a strong showing for the upstart, far-left political party, Bundnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).
Also Read: Germany’s far right gets a boost from past traumas haunting industrial east
The two parties have found a receptive audience in the eastern states for their criticism of the Government in Berlin and of military aid to Ukraine.
An election victory for the AfD would be a landmark in Germany's post-war history and represent a rebuke for Mr. Scholz ahead of national elections in 2025.
In both states, Mr. Scholz's Social Democrats are polling around six percent, while their coalition partners, the Greens and the liberal FDP, lag even further behind.
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