Germany on Monday absorbs the results of Sunday’s state elections in Brandenburg and Saxony, the main candidates for the upcoming elections in Thuringia.
Meanwhile, another state in former East Germany, have begun to draw conclusions for their own campaign.
Bodo Ramelow, premier in Thuringia from the hard-left Die Linke (The Left) party, said he thought it was remarkable that far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party founded/led by West Germans had gone so far in the east.
In Saxony and Brandenburg, two out of the five states that once made up the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the AfD made significant gains, becoming the second-strongest party.
The Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU) both suffered heavy losses.
The vote had so far raised concerns that the main political parties have lost touch with the concerns of East Germans.
Ramelow added that in spite of the latest results, he was optimistic that his party would win again.
“My party is number one in Thuringia,“ he said.
He currently heads up a three-party coalition between Die Linke, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens.
The elections were scheduled for Oct. 27, in Thuringia.
Meanwhile, the Green Party in Thuringia said it wanted to establish itself as the main opposing force to the AfD.
According to Anja Siegesmund, the leading candidate for the Greens in Thuringia, the party wants to get stronger, enter the two-digit range.
“We want to continue our coalition with Die Linke and the SPD,“ he said.
The Head of Thuringia’s CDU, Mike Mohring, said the results in Saxony gave the CDU momentum in Thuringia. (dpa/NAN)
