Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, northeast Germany, finishing first in the region for the first time.
According to preliminary results, the AfD took 38.2 per cent of the vote on September 20, up 21.5 percentage points on 2021. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Minister-President Manuela Schwesig came second with 35.5 per cent.
It is the first time in 28 years that the SPD has not been the largest party in the state. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won just under 5 per cent, a fall of 8.4 points, and will have no seats in the new state parliament.
Die Linke (the Left) took 6.5 per cent and the Greens 5.7 per cent. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also failed to clear the 5 per cent threshold.
Turnout was 78.1 per cent, 7.3 points higher than in 2021.
On the preliminary figures the AfD would hold 32 of the 71 seats, with 29 for the SPD and five each for Die Linke and the Greens. That leaves the SPD, Die Linke and the Greens with 39 seats between them, above the 36 needed for a majority.
Schwesig, who has governed the state since 2017 and currently leads a coalition with Die Linke, said she was ready to continue as premier. She predicted the AfD would not be able to form a government.
AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla described the result as sensational and said his party had a clear mandate to govern, adding that it was ready to talk to all parties. The AfD’s regional list was led by Leif-Erik Holm.
Fellow co-leader Alice Weidel told public broadcaster ARD the vote showed the failure of the left-wing policies of the CDU and SPD. She said she was open to talks with the BSW and even to a minority government.
Merz, in a speech after the exit polls, called the result a disaster for his party. He said the CDU had been crushed in the polarisation between the SPD and the AfD, according to CNN.
The vote came two weeks after the AfD won the state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8 per cent, the best result in its history. On the same day, Die Linke won the election in Berlin.
A survey by Infratest for ARD published before the vote found that 90 per cent of Germans rated the performance of the federal government negatively.
