Scholz’s Social Democrats hold back the far right in German state vote

Scholz’s Social Democrats hold back the far right in German state vote

The Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz won an election in the eastern German state of Brandenburg on Sunday (September 22, 2024) gaining a narrow edge over a growing far-right party, according to the vote count. The vote took place three weeks after the far right made gains in two other states in eastern Germany.

According to final results published on Sunday (September 22, 2024) evening by the state electoral administration, the Social Democrats won 30.9% of the votes in the election to the parliament of Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin. The far-right Alternative for Germany was a close second with 29.2%.

Also read:Social Democrats beat Merkel bloc in German elections

A new leftist movement, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW, came in third with 13.5% while the center-right Christian Democrats took 12.1%

The first-place showing for the Social Democrats brought a reprieve to the beleaguered Mr. Scholz, whose three-party governing coalition has fared poorly in elections so far this year.

The Social Democrats have governed Brandenburg continuously since German reunification in 1990, and a loss there would have been a major setback for Scholz, who has his constituency in the state capital, Potsdam.

Mr. Scholz has said he would like to be the party's candidate for chancellor in next fall's federal election, and Sunday's vote was also being watched for what it might signal about his political future.