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German stability tested in regional votes infographic
Graphic shows recent opinion polls in the three German states voting in September.
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POLITICS

Germany’s political landscape faces upheaval in state votes

By Jordi Bou

September 1, 2024 - Germany’s political landscape faces upheaval, with opinion polls expecting the far-right AfD to win the most votes in up to 3 of the nation’s 16 federal states in an unprecedented result.

State elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg in September will impose a stress test on the country’s democracy, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and a new populist leftist-conservative force, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), expected to perform exceedingly well in the aftermath of a deadly stabbing attack, allegedly by a Syrian asylum seeker.

The anti-migration, anti-Islam AfD could take the most votes in all three states one year before Germany is scheduled to hold its next general election, and claim up to a third of the vote in the states holding elections this Sunday: Saxony and Thuringia.

Such an outcome could intensify bickering within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s deeply unpopular ruling coalition and spur calls for an early election in Europe’s biggest economy.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 30/08/2024; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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