Germany's far-right AfD party won a historic victory in its first regional elections in the former eastern German state of Thuringia on Sunday, a post-election poll showed, meaning she loses Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of the 2025 federal election.
The poll showed the AfD won between 30.5 and 33.5 percent of the vote in Thuringia, with the conservative CDU coming in second with around 24.5 percent.
Neighbouring Saxony also held state elections on Sunday, with the AfD in a neck-and-neck lead in opinion polls with the CDU. The AfD's chances of taking power in both states are slim because other parties have rejected the idea of the far right forming a government.
Nevertheless, the result would send shock waves through politics, as it would be the first time in postwar German history that a right-wing extremist party has won a national election.
If confirmed, it would also be a severe blow to Scholz's Social Democrats and the other parties in his fractured coalition government, the Greens and the liberal FDP. The SPD would probably achieve 6.5-7 percent in Thuringia and 7.5-8.5 percent in Saxony.
