<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/bad-news-for-the-energy-transition-far-right-extremists-score-big-in-german-state-elections/>
"The far-right, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has won big in two
eastern German state elections, where voters handed the parties that make up
the country’s federal government a resounding defeat.
The AfD called the closely watched state elections in the former communist
eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony a “historic success,” while chancellor
Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat (SPD), said the results were “bitter” as he
urged other parties not to form coalitions with “rightwing extremists.”
One year ahead of the country’s next national elections, both states now face
difficult coalition negotiations, as mainstream parties have ruled out
cooperation with the AfD – and could find themselves compelled to instead form
a coalition with the new nationalist-left party BSW.
The results could make it more difficult for Germany to agree on a path towards
climate neutrality.
The AfD won almost 33 percent of the vote in Thuringia, nine points ahead of
the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), and far ahead of the three parties
forming the federal government coalition, which together only scored around ten
percent, according to preliminary results.
In Saxony, the CDU won just under 32 percent, closely followed by the AfD with
almost 31 percent, while the parties of Scholz’s federal government also all
remained in the single digits.
The nationalist-leftwing, anti-immigrant and pro-Russia Sahra Wagenknecht
Alliance (BSW), named after its leader, drew almost 12 percent in Saxony and
almost 16 percent in Thuringia, only eight months after its founding.
The CDU is now facing the difficult task of forming coalitions in both states
without the AfD, which it has ruled out as a coalition partner."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
