AfD wins second major German state election in 2 weeks

Often labeled “far right” by political enemies, Germany’s conservative immigration restrictionist party won a major state election Sunday, the second in two weeks. Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland or AfD) won 38.2% of the vote in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, up more than 20 points from the party’s 2021 results.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) finished second place with 35.5% of the vote, with Die Linke (the Left) and the Greens being the only other two parties to earn seats in the state legislature. Notably, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of incumbent German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and former chancellor Angela Merkel, failed to earn more than 5% of the vote, meaning that the party will take no seats in the legislature, the first time that the party has failed to secure seats in a state legislature.

AfD similarly won the most seats in Saxony-Anhalt’s legislature in that state’s Sept. 6 elections.

Although Berlin’s state elections saw the CDU maintain a share of 34 seats, the party lost nearly 20 seats, marking the first Berlin election since 1990 where neither the CDU nor the SPD placed first in the election results. While Die Linke won a total of 47 seats, AfD also increased its share of seats in Berlin’s legislature by 12, for a total of 29 seats, making AfD the third-largest party in the historically left-wing state.

>> German immigration restrictionist party wins significant victory in state elections <<

Like Saxony-Anhalt’s election earlier in the month, the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election yielded unusually high voter turnout with more than 78% of registered voters casting a ballot, up almost 20 points since 2016. AfD was also the most popular party among every age demographic of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania voters — except for voters 70 years or older.

Roughly one-third of voters aged 16-24 (34%) and 25-34 (31%) threw their support behind AfD, as did nearly half of voters aged 35-44 (45%) and 45-59 (46%). Among voters aged 60-69, 40% backed AfD, while the majority (52%) of voters aged 70 or older backed SPD.

AfD’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state branch is the only state branch in eastern Germany that has not been labeled a confirmed right-wing extremist organization by state or federal authorities.

The party campaigned heavily on security, including immigration restrictions. AfD proposed the creation of special immigration and deportation units within the state police, the establishment of a detention and deportation center within the state, and increased funding for state police personnel and equipment.

Other elements of AfD’s platform in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania include performance-based education policies, ending the state’s reliance on “green” energy and investing in oil-based and nuclear energy, requiring political neutrality for media outlets receiving state funding and lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12.

Despite holding the largest share of seats in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania legislature, AfD did not win an outright majority. The SPD is expected to form a potential coalition with Die Linke and the Greens in order to keep AfD from power.