German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly defeated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), securing 30.9% of the vote compared to the AfD’s 29.2%, in a regional election in Brandenburg, Reuters reports.
However, exit polls revealed that three-quarters of their voters chose them primarily to prevent an AfD victory rather than out of genuine support for the party. The AfD, having topped polls for two years and recently winning a state election for the first time since World War II, continues to gain traction by addressing concerns over the cost of living, irregular immigration, and the war in Ukraine.
The junior coalition partners in Scholz’s government, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), also performed poorly, with the Greens failing to enter the state parliament for the first time in two decades, while the FDP garnered less than 1%.
The SPD’s national polling has dropped to around 15%, significantly down from 25.7% in the 2021 elections, while the AfD and opposition conservatives are polling at approximately 20% and 32%, respectively.
