Political situation in Germany

Analysis: East German decline has political repercussions

The image of the AFD has changed in a short time among its sympathizers, write Bianca Schwartz and Martin Schmidt in Tagesschau.

A few years ago it was a classic protest party, while today the party is attributed with a problem-solving ability. This is shown by opinion polls in the states before the election. In matters such as asylum and migration policy, social justice, crime fighting, East German interests and the relationship with Russia, AFD is thought to have the best policy. It is the first time the party has been ranked best.

Thuringia and Saxony are hardly post-industrial wastelands and several cities are among Germany's most attractive, writes Michael Mosbacher in The Telegraph. After the unification of Germany, billions have been pumped in. But the change is superficial and hides a large depopulation, with Thuringia losing 600,000 inhabitants since 1990 and Saxony 800,000.

The successes of the AFD and BSW, parties outside the mainstream, show that Germany's unification process is far from over and is even going backwards.

"35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, large parts of East Germany are still in decline - and this is having political repercussions," writes Mosbacher.

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Locked situation after AFD's "historic success"

The forecasts were right - the far-right party AFD becomes the largest party in the state election in German Thuringia when all constituencies are counted. In total, the party gets 32.8 percent of the votes in the state, while the Christian Democratic CDU gets the second most votes with 23.6 percent of voter support. A "historic success" for AFD, according to the party's one chairman Alice Weidel.

The German left-wing profile Sahra Wagenknecht's newly formed BSW in turn gets 15.8 percent in Thuringia - while Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats SPD only gets 6.1 percent in the state.

According to Welt, AFD's success will make it very difficult for the other parties to form their own coalition. The CDU, BSW and SPD together collect 44 seats out of 88 in the state parliament – ​​one seat short of a majority. Only with the help of the left can the parties get a majority in Thuringia - but the Christian Democrats have sworn not to cooperate with Die Linke.

In Saxony too, the AFD is advancing, with 30.6 percent. The largest in the state, however, is the CDU with 31.9 percent of the vote.