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🇭🇷 Croatia /Elections & Politics

AfD crushes governing CDU as Weidel calls for Merz to be replaced by Christmas

From Večernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The far-right Alternative for Germany won about 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, far ahead of the CDU at 17.5%, according to exit polls.
  • AfD leader Alice Weidel called for snap federal elections and said Chancellor Friedrich Merz should be replaced by Christmas.
  • The party’s path to an absolute majority remained uncertain because the BSW party was close to the electoral threshold, while an anti-AfD coalition could require cooperation between the CDU and the Left party.

The Alternative for Germany emerged from Saxony-Anhalt’s state election with about 44% of the vote, a result that could put the far-right party within reach of forming Germany’s first state government led by right-wingers since World War II.

AfD leader Alice Weidel used the result to call for a broader political shake-up. “I expect snap federal elections and I expect the current chancellor to be replaced by Christmas,” she said after the vote.

The exit polls put the CDU at 17.5%, followed by the SPD at 9.2%, the Greens at 8.9% and the Left party at 8.6%. The BSW protest party, which combines far-left and far-right positions, stood at 5.1% and was still hovering around the electoral threshold late in the evening.

That threshold could determine whether the AfD wins an absolute majority. If BSW enters the state parliament, the AfD could finish one to three seats short. If it fails to enter, the AfD would have a better chance of governing alone under its candidate for state premier, Ulrich Siegmund.

Turnout reached 76.5%, up sharply from 60% in 2021. The figures indicated that the AfD mobilized voters who had not previously taken part. Its result would represent the biggest gain by any German party between election cycles since the end of World War II, surpassing a record previously held by the CDU after its 2004 result in Hamburg.

The SPD recorded around 9.1%, slightly above its 8.4% in the previous election, but still one of the party’s weakest results in postwar history. The governing majority had previously consisted of the CDU, SPD and FDP. With the liberals failing to clear the threshold, an anti-AfD coalition would have to include the CDU and the Left party, a prospect that remains uncomfortable for many Christian Democrats. The CDU officially rejects cooperation with extremist parties on both the right and left, including the AfD and the Left.

I expect snap federal elections and I expect the current chancellor to be replaced by Christmas.

· Alice WeidelThe AfD leader spoke after her party’s strong result in Saxony-Anhalt.
About this summary

Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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