{"id":15613,"date":"2024-09-02T05:28:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T12:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=15613"},"modified":"2024-09-02T05:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T12:28:47","slug":"afd-makes-german-election-history-85-years-after-nazis-started-world-war-ii-newsweek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=15613","title":{"rendered":"“AfD Makes German Election History 85 Years After Nazis Started World War II”, Newsweek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Barney Henderson\u00a0<\/a> <\/strong>AND\u00a0\u00a0Jason Lemon\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>, Sep 02, 2024 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won its first state election in Germany since the Nazi era in a landmark result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AfD emerged as the clear victor in Thuringia, in the east of the country, securing almost a third of the vote. It was nine points ahead of the center-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which garnered around 24 percent, and far ahead of Germany’s three governing parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In neighboring Saxony, it finished only just behind the CDU, which leads the national opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election outcomes underscore a deepening discontent with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government<\/a>, which has been mired in unpopularity and internal conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bjorn
Bjorn Hecke (AfD) after the publication of the first forecasts for the state election in Saxony and Thuringia, in Erfurt, Germany, Sunday Sept. 1, 2024. MICHAEL KAPPELER\/DPA VIA AP<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The elections came on the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, marking the start of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omid Nouripour, a leader of the Greens, remarked that “an openly right-wing extremist party has become the strongest force in a state parliament for the first time since 1949,” reflecting widespread concern about the AfD’s rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An AfD spokesperson told Newsweek<\/em>: “We are not a Right-wing extremist party.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parties within Chancellor Scholz’s coalition performed poorly, with the Greens facing the loss of their seats in Thuringia and the pro-business Free Democrats<\/a> failing to secure representation in either state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the complexity of the political landscape, a new party founded by prominent leftist Sahra Wagenknecht made a striking debut. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) captured up to 16 percent of the vote in Thuringia and 12 percent in Saxony, positioning itself as a formidable new player in regional politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice Weidel, AfD’s national co-leader, hailed the result as a “historic success” and a “requiem” for Scholz’s coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite AfD’s gains, mainstream parties continue to reject any coalition with the far-Right group. CDU’s national general secretary, Carsten Linnemann, reaffirmed that the party would not form alliances with AfD, a stance that could complicate the formation of future state governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AfD’s success is largely rooted in the former communist East, where the party has capitalized on anti-immigration sentiment and skepticism toward Germany’s military support for Ukraine. Thuringia’s AfD leader, Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, who is under surveillance by the domestic intelligence agency for right-wing extremism, expressed pride in the election results, dismissing concerns about his party’s extremist label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n\n\n\n