Potsdam, Germany, Sep 22 (EFE).- The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) won Sunday’s elections in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds the capital city Berlin, narrowly defeating the far-right Alternative for Germany (Alternativ fur Deutschland – AfD), according to exit polls.
The SPD, the party of German chancellor Olaf Scholz, is projected to have won 31% of the vote, one point ahead of the AfD.
The Christian Democrat Union (CDU) is predicted to be tied at 12% with the newly-emerged leftist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, while the Greens would be at 5%, according to polls broadcast by German public television.
Turnout was 74 %, almost 13 points higher than the last elections in 2019.
If the projections are confirmed, the SPD, CDU and Greens’ seats would add up to 47 out of a total of 88 in the regional parliament, enough to repeat the coalition that governed the region during the last legislature.
The AfD, classified as suspected right-wing extremist by German intelligence services, is predicted to win less than a third of the seats, meaning it won’t be able to block important decisions in the chamber.
But the margin is slim and AfD could still overtake the SPD as the count progresses.
An AfD victory would force acting regional Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke to carry out his threat to resign and not to lead a coalition of democratic forces.
With the so-called ‘cordon sanitaire’ keeping the far-right group out of power still in place for the moment, the AfD would have no real chance of governing, but a victory would severely complicate negotiations to form a coalition to govern the state, as well as deal another blow to Scholz’s already battered federal government.
Migration and security issues dominated the campaign – Brandenburg borders Poland – as well as healthcare, housing and the war in Ukraine.
Brandenburg is the third and last state to hold elections this year in eastern Germany, where the AfD won Thuringia and in Saxony.EFE
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