Why a far-right regional election win is so ‘disturbing’ for Germany
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Alternative for Germany has won its first ever regional election, in the latest EU country to see a rise in popularity for right-wing, anti-immigration political parties.
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In brief...
- AfD won the regional election in the state of Thuringia, winning 32.8% of the vote.
- The party wants Germany to close its borders to stop people fleeing war from entering and resettling in the country.
- The News Agents say this isn’t a “Nazi comeback”, but that it will leave mainstream parties in Berlin and Brussels concerned.
What's the story?
A regional election in Germany has been won by a far-right political party for the first time since the Second World War.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 32.8% of votes in the state of Thuringia, which has a population around 2,120,000 people.
It placed second in the neighbouring state of Saxony, finishing behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Shortly before the German elections, three people were murdered during a street festival in Solingen, western Germany, by a migrant man facing deportation from the country. He is a suspected member of the Islamic State group (IS).
This incident placed immigration issues in news headlines at a crucial time for voters, with AfD having campaigned for Germany to close its borders to people fleeing war from overseas and other migrants, as well as for an end to free movement.
Lewis Goodall says the regional election results could be a “harbinger” of what might happen in the German general election set for September 2025.
"It fits into a wider pattern of something we've reported on a lot on The News Agents, which is the rise of extremist parties across Europe, particularly parties of the far right,” he says.
"This is the first time a far-right party has won a regional election in Germany since the 1930s, since the Nazis were in power."
But Emily Mailis adds that this is not “a Nazi comeback” since those who voted for AfD make up a small percentage of Germany’s population.
Who are the AfD?
AfD was founded in 2013 and is an anti-immigration, German nationalist party. It has been labelled a "radical right" by some.
It has previously won seats in European Parliament elections, but its victory in Thuringia marks its biggest success yet.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has suggested other mainstream parties should form state governments to block the far-right.
"The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country's reputation," he told the Reuters news agency.
What controversies have the AfD faced?
Over the past few years, the right-wing has seen a rise across Europe – with Georgia Meloni becoming Prime Minister in Italy for the Brothers of Italy, Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party coming close to claiming power in France, and of course Reform UK winning five seats in the UK at this year's general election.
But the views and actions of some members of AfD are considered extreme, even by right-wing parties in neighbouring countries.
“Following recent statements by the AfD, we will not be sitting with them during the next mandate in the European Parliament," said a statement from Le Pen's National Rally party in May 2024.
The comment was made after AfD politician Björn Höcke was convicted and fined in May 2024 after using a Nazi slogan in a campaign speech.
Emily says it is an attempt from Le Pen to “row back from her father's position on anti semitism,” as the RN leader works to move forward from her own party’s far-right legacy, and find a more centre-right position.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has designated Höcke's local party branch as a "proven right-wing extremist" group and is under surveillance from officials.
Another AfD member, Maximilian Krah, had also given an interview the same month, in which he claimed he would “never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal."
“I think it isn't an exaggeration to say that, particularly in these regions of Germany, we are talking about a really extremist force here with the AfD,” says Lewis.
What's The News Agents' take?
Emily says the real story here is, and will be, how mainstream parties “neutralise and deal with” the threat from extremist parties such as AfD.
Lewis says the regional success of AfD in these elections will be a concern both to Germany's leaders in Berlin, and EU leaders in Brussels.
“As we have seen in our own country, and as we see time and time again in Europe, the rise of a radical – or far right – force like the AfD does have ramifications and impact on the way centre right parties think, the way they talk, the way they act, the way they legislate,” he says.
“Younger people are increasingly – I think mainly as a result finding their economic message appealing – turning to the far right, which is pretty disturbing.”
Listen in full on The News Agents.
