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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Deborah Cole Berlin correspondent

Nerves rise over AfD threat as state elections in eastern Germany begin

People in a town square hold up a sign that says 'Björn Höcke ist ein Nazi'
Protesters in Chemnitz make their feelings known about Björn Höcke, the AfD’s co-leader in Thuringia. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

Voters in two eastern German states are about to go to the polls in elections that could see the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party score its first wins at the regional level and a separate new populist force on the left establish a firm foothold.

The results in Saxony and Thuringia, due on Sunday evening, are expected to be disastrous for the three ruling parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left-led coalition government in Berlin, one year before Germany holds its next general election.

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