Summary of the day
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) came first in Sunday’s election in Thuringia with nearly 33% of the vote and a close second in Saxony with almost 31%.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, urged mainstream parties to exclude “rightwing extremists”. He called the results “bitter” and “worrying”.
The chancellor said “our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation.”
Leaders of the AfD demanded that their party be included in coalition negotiations in the two states.
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) said the results of the elections in Thuringia and Saxony are not only a signal for change in direction in the states, but also on the federal level.
Saskia Esken, from the Social Democratic party (SPD), said that “all the (coalition) parties, but in particular our two coalition partners, must take the motivation from this election result to end these public arguments and pull together.”
Valérie Hayer, the president of the Renew Europe group, said “a dark day for Germany is a dark day for Europe.”
Petr Fiala, the conservative Czech prime minister, expressed concern and called for stepping up efforts to reduce illegal migration.
The conservative Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has expressed concern about the outcome of elections in the two German states, calling for faster asylum procedures outside the EU, a more effective returns policy and stricter controls.
Posilování radikálních a extrémních politických hnutí v Německu není dobré pro Německo, ale ani pro nás. Jednou z často zmiňovaných příčin je nezvládnutá nelegální migrace. To je v Evropě čím dál větší problém. A uznávají to už i ti, kteří mě označovali málem za xenofoba, když…
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) September 2, 2024
