Far-right success in German votes piles new pressure on Scholz's government

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00:00The morning after two state elections, Germans wake up to dramatic headlines.

00:04AFD quake, read for Schultz, reads one of Germany's biggest newspapers.

00:10In the eastern state of Thuringia, the party won almost a third of the vote,

00:14giving the far right its first win in a state parliament election since the second world war.

00:19For its party leaders, the result gives them a clear mandate to rule

00:23and implement its anti-immigration agenda.

00:25What we have seen is a dramatically poor performance by the government coalition.

00:33And accordingly, Chancellor Olaf Scholz should draw the consequences and,

00:37together with his coalition partners, pack his bags and vacate the premises.

00:45But it's unlikely the AFD will manage to form a regional government in Thuringia,

00:49since other parties have publicly stated they wouldn't collaborate.

00:53In Saxony too, the party performed well, but came in close second behind the conservative CDU.

00:59That's still far ahead of the three parties running the national government though.

01:03For Olaf Scholz's socialist SPD,

01:06it's a huge disappointment and a threat to his already weakening coalition.

01:11This election day is a difficult day for the SPD and it's a difficult day for our democracy.

01:16In Thuringia, a party considered by the office for the protection of the constitution to be

01:20right-wing extremist has the most votes. And in Saxony, it's not far behind.

01:25That should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.

01:28A newly founded radical left party led by Sarah Wagenknecht also came in third in both states,

01:34an indication some are growing disillusioned with mainstream political parties.

01:39Scholz, for his part, has called on all quote

01:41democratic parties to form alliances against the far right.

01:45The results may be local, but they don't bode well for his coalition

01:49ahead of Germany's 2025 federal elections.

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