The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) saw its share of the vote more than double in yesterday’s state elections in Thuringia. The party surpassed Angela Merkel’s CDU, and is now the second-largest party in the state.
The far-left Die Linke (The Left) party became the strongest political force in the state, while support for Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU fell dramatically. The center-left SPD also lost votes and dropped down to single digits.
According to preliminary final results, Die Link, a party with its roots in the former Communist party of East Germany, garnered 31.0 percent of the vote.
The Alternative for Deutschland came in second place, taking home 23.4 of the vote, while support for the CDU dropped to 21.8. The center-left SPD snagged just 8.2 percent of the vote, the Greens grabbed 5.2 percent, and the liberal FDP party won 5 percent.