Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has narrowly avoided a political setback as exit polls indicate that his party has successfully fended off a significant challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the regional election held in Brandenburg. According to estimates, Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) managed to secure victory by a slim margin of just one to two percentage points, poll results suggest.
The elections, closely monitored due to the AfD’s recent gains, concluded with the SPD projected to receive between 31% and 32% of the vote, while the AfD trailed with 29% to 30%. This regional election was particularly critical, as Brandenburg has been under SPD governance since the reunification of Germany in 1990.
Just weeks after the AfD made history by winning its first state election since World War II in Thuringia, the potential for a similar outcome in Brandenburg raised concerns for Scholz’s political future. A victory for the far-right party would have represented a significant blow to Scholz’s re-election prospects in the upcoming federal elections next year, drawing even more attention due to his residence in the state capital, Potsdam.
Facing declining approval ratings and internal conflicts within his coalition government, Scholz may have received a political reprieve from approximately two million voters in Brandenburg. Dietmar Woidke, the state’s prominent SPD premier, chose to campaign separately from Scholz while expressing criticism toward the coalition’s policies.
In response to escalating concerns about the AfD’s influence, Scholz urged other political parties to unite against what he referred to as “right-wing extremism.” He characterized the party’s recent successes as detrimental to Germany, emphasizing its negative impact on the economy and societal cohesion.
Despite being classified as “extremist” in several regions, the AfD’s appeal remains robust, leveraging public anxieties over economic conditions, immigration, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, especially in the historically Communist eastern regions of Germany. The party’s shocking performance in Thuringia, where it outpaced the conservative CDU by nine points, further solidifies its position as second in national opinion polls with the federal elections just a year away. AfD co-leader Alice Weidel has asserted that a stable government is no longer feasible without their participation.
