The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which had sparked outrage by suggesting police may have to shoot at migrants to stop them entering the country, recorded double-digit support in the first elections they have stood for in all three regions.
Advertisement
Voters went to the polls in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Wuerttemberg and the right-leaning populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) scored double-digit results in all three, dealing a blow to Germany’s established parties, especially to the CDU.
“We have fundamental problems in Germany that led to this election result”, said Petry. In both Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, the party with links to the rightwing Pegida movement appeared to have won more than 10% of the vote. While many citizens at first lauded the policy, greeting recently arrived asylum seekers with supplies and candies the disposition toward refugees started to sober through the entire year, as the country confronted in resettling more than ONE million individuals, growing challenges.
Asked if Merkel should now overhaul her refugee policy, CDU general secretary Peter Tauber said: “I don’t see that need”.
“What an awesome evening”, Andre Poggenburg, the AfD leader in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said in a fiery speech in the state capital Magdeburg, calling the result “brilliant”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was facing fresh pressure on Monday after a regional election drubbing described as a “debacle” over her liberal refugee policy.
However she noted: “When questioned about what solutions the AfD proposes, they said no solutions, but they wanted to give a warning”.
BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s leading politicians are mulling the fallout from state elections that brought gains for a nationalist, anti-migration party and two major disappointments for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.
Among the predicted defeats for the democrats is the western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg which, historically held much of their support.
“The key reason for the losses is refugee policy, there’s no getting round it”, Horst Seehofer, the Bavarian state prime minister, and Mrs Merkel’s bete noir over the issue, said. An astounding result for a party that only formed three years ago.
There is speculation Mrs Merkel’s critics within the CDU may look for a new leader ahead of next year’s national elections.
AfD now has seats in half of Germany’s 16 state legislatures and the European Parliament.
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the second biggest party in Saxony-Anhalt and made strong gains in two other states in regional elections. That came on top of months of attacks from Merkel’s allies in Bavaria’s Christian Social Union, who want a national cap on refugee numbers.
Advertisement
The Social Democrats (SPD) were in fact the biggest losers overall with support falling away across the board although they did hang on to Rhineland-Palatinate with 36 percent.
