At 18:00 on Sunday, the polling stations closed for the citizens of Saxony and Thuringia. At the same time, a number of media announced the election day polls. Party leader Alice Weidel calls it “a historic election victory”. Election day polls by the broadcasters ARD and ZDF show that the party gets between 30 and 33 percent in the state of Thuringia. – A sad day for Germany – The forecast has gone in that direction, but many had hoped that they would be able to mobilize courage, says Anette Homlong Storeide, researcher at the Holocaust Center and the Falstad Center. She specializes in German history and politics and knows well the states where the AfD currently seems to be rushing forward. – I have spoken to many German colleagues and friends, and this is not unexpected, but it is a sad day for Germany. Leader Björn Höcke in the state of Thuringia has been convicted of Nazi rhetoric, and his party is being monitored as far-right. VOTES: Björn Höcke leads the AfD in Thuringia. Photo: TNN; dpa (Do not use this version of the image) – Now it remains to be seen whether they will get into a leadership position, it is not automatic that they do so with a majority. But there is a new breakthrough. Unfortunately, I must say, says Homlong Storeide. – On the one hand, the AfD represents the old turbidity that one had hoped to have overcome, says the researcher. She explains that support for the AfD has also become the symbol of the difference between East and West. GERMANY EXPERT: Anette Homlong Storeide specializes in German history and politics and works at the Holocaust Center and the Falstad Center. Photo: Marit Langseth – At the same time, they are also advancing in what is old West Germany. In Thuringia they have had support for a long time, but most Germans had hoped that would not be the case. Pointing to heritage from the war She explains that Höcke symbolizes a fascist part of the party. But Thuringia also has a historical heritage. The researcher points to what remains from the time when Hitler ruled Germany. – In Thuringia was the Buchenwald concentration camp where, among other things, Norwegian students were sent during the war. Thuringia bears the legacy of what happened then, and the National Socialist party has historically done well here, says the researcher. PROTESTING: People in Erfurt demonstrate against the AfD after the first election day polls in the state election in Thuringia were published. Photo: Christian Mang / Reuters In the neighboring state of Saxony, which is also holding elections on Sunday, the CDU is just ahead of the AfD in the election day polls, which will nevertheless be the second largest party in the state. The newcomer BSW on the outer left is also doing very well. AfD scores 31.5 percent in ZDF’s election day poll. Mobilization like in France? – In Saxony, they have done well on the forecasts, so it is very good to see that they are not doing as well there. Soon there are elections in Brandenburg, and it will be exciting. It is difficult to say whether it will be like in France that they are mobilizing against or whether they are riding a wave of victory. It can go either way, says Homlong Storeide. In two weeks, people in Brandenburg will decide who will rule there. All three states are located in what used to be the communist dictatorship of East Germany, GDR, and that still influences how people vote. Many East Germans claim they are treated as second-class citizens in Germany, and say the AfD makes them proud to be German again. The incumbent federal government of Olaf Scholz looks set to achieve a disappointing result in both states of between 6.5 and 8.5 percent for the Social Democrats (SPD), writes AFP. The Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats, who all sit in Prime Minister Scholz’s federal government, are doing very poorly. – There are federal elections next year. This is not a direct answer to what happens next year, but the established parties will be able to move to the right. It is going to be that immigration, asylum and refugees become important, says Homlong Storeide. Published 01.09.2024, at 18.22 Updated 01.09.2024, at 21.36
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