Strong gains by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the European Parliament elections should provide momentum heading into Germany’s state elections in the fall, the AfD co-leader told dpa on Sunday.
Exit polls released earlier on Sunday placed the AfD in second place with 16.1% to 16.4% of the vote. The AfD was particularly strong in states that were part of the former communist East Germany.
Three states in the former East Germany – Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia – will hold parliamentary elections in September. The AfD has received the greatest support in that region.
“I hear that we are now the strongest force in the East in these elections – there cannot be a bigger tailwind,” said Tino Chrupalla ahead of the upcoming elections.
“If the AfD comes second in a European election, that will be sensational for us,” he added.
He also rejected comments from center-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the CDU/CSU bloc, who said on election night that the AfD had passed its peak.
“If I were Mr Merz, I would be very careful with such statements,” Chrupalla said.
