The far-right Alternative for Germany made gains but failed to secure outright victories in local elections in an eastern state where the party is strong and its regional leader, one of the party's best-known figures, was recently convicted of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech.
Sunday's elections at county and mayoral level in Thuringia come ahead of a state election on Sept. 1 in which Alternative for Germany's local leader, Björn Höcke, plans to run for the governor’s job.
