[Paris – Kazumasa Bando]State elections were held in two eastern German states on the 1st, and the results were announced on the same day, with the far-right anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) becoming the largest party in the state of Thuringia. This is the first time the party has become the largest party in the state parliament since its founding in 2013. It also came close to becoming the largest party in the state of Saxony.

The election is seen as a prelude to the general election in September next year, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left party, the Social Democrats (SPD), and the other three coalition parties, who suffered a crushing defeat, are on high alert. The rise of far-right and right-wing forces in Europe has become clear once again.

According to provisional tally reported by German media, the AfD received 32.8% of the vote in Thuringia, up 9.4 points from the last election. In second place was the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the largest national opposition party, with 23.6%. The SPD received only 6.1%. In Saxony, the CDU maintained its lead with 31.9% of the vote, narrowly missing out on the AfD, who came in second with 30.6%.

In both states, no party has a majority on its own, so coalition talks will be the focus from now on. It is considered unlikely that the AfD will be able to form a government in Thuringia.

The AfD is against accepting immigrants and refugees, and is critical of the European Union. It also opposes sanctions against Russia, which continues to invade Ukraine. German authorities are particularly wary of Thuringia’s party branch chairman, Höcke, who they consider to be a “far-right extremist” with ideology similar to that of Nazi Germany.

Both Thuringia and Saxony are located in the former East Germany before German reunification in 1990. Economic disparities with the former West Germany remain, and in recent years the AfD has been drawing on the dissatisfaction of residents in the former East German region and expanding its support. On the 22nd, parliamentary elections were held in the former East German state of Brandenburg, where the AfD is showing signs of outperforming the SPD, the largest party in the state parliament.

In Europe, the power of the far-right and right-wing parties grew in the European Parliament elections held in June. In the first round of the French lower house elections held at the end of the same month, the far-right party National Rally won the most votes.