In Germany, the AfD suffered an electoral setback after anti-right-wing demonstrations in Thuringia.

Christian Mang / AFP

A demonstration against the far right and the AfD in Berlin on January 21, 2024.

Germany – Losing bet. The German far-right suffered an electoral setback this Sunday, January 28, following demonstrations on an unprecedented scale in the country against its program, though it had seemed to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory for months.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party lost its bid to win a second cantonal presidency during local elections in the Saale-Orla district, in the East German region of Thuringia.

His candidate, Uwe Thrum, won just 47.6% of the vote in the second round of voting on Sunday, improving on his first-round score by just 1.9 points, while his conservative rival benefited from a strong vote carryover and finished at 52.4%.

Expels migrants

The defeat of the AfD, which had started as favourites, was achieved “Thank you for mobilizing civil society”Second estimate in the Thuringia region, social democrat Georg Mayr.

The election was a test at a time when the party and its opponents have been rocked for nearly two weeks by mass protests against what its program calls racist. Last weekend, organizers estimated the number of participants at 1.4 million.

This mobilization of civil society was triggered by a press revelation that caused an earthquake in Germany: members of the AfD, an anti-immigrant and anti-system party, discussed a plan for the mass expulsion of foreigners from the country at the end of last year and “Non-Assamese Citizens”.

Olaf Scholz unpopular

A poll by the Insa Institute, conducted in the wake of the first demonstration, recently reported a drop in voting intentions for the AfD to 21.5%, compared to 23% previously.

Still, the Afd is the second most popular party in Germany in the polls, behind the conservative opposition of Social-Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It is due to the increase in immigration and the record unpopularity of the governing coalition in power.

In this context, more and more voices are calling for the AfD to cut public funding, especially since the party is in the crosshairs of the intelligence services. Its regional branches in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were placed under surveillance because their positions were considered too radical.

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