German chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties to exclude “right-wing extremists”, after preliminary results showed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had come top in a state election, while a new populist force on the left established a firm foothold in the country’s political landscape.
Voters in two closely watched elections in the former communist east made their dissatisfaction with Germany’s mainstream political parties clear, putting the AFD in the top spot in Thuringia, with 32.8% of the vote, and second place in Saxony, with 30.6%, according to preliminary results.
And lo, there was a great rending of garments and gnashing of teeth!
“Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz said, adding that the most dire predictions, that his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) might fall out of a state parliament for the first time, had not materialised.
This time, Scholz, This time, and with that attitude towards the voters, who knows what will happen next time?
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