5 lessons from the German state elections following the historic gains of the extreme right | WUWM 89.7 FM

BERLIN – Voters in Thuringia and Saxony have given a far-right party its best result since World War II. The result of yesterday's election has raised concerns among political observers that there could be a resurgence of xenophobic, populist politics in Germany and Europe.

Here are five takeaways from yesterday’s election:

1. The nationalist, anti-immigration policies of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are becoming increasingly popular in Germany.

The AfD, a nationalist party that regularly blames immigrants for many of Germany's problems, has been around for 11 years. It rose to prominence six years ago after then-Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed over a million migrants from war-torn Middle Eastern countries to settle in Germany.

The AfD has become so notorious that it is under scrutiny for its threat to the German constitution. Despite this, the party won the most seats in Thuringia in the election, with almost a third of the parliamentary seats (32.8 percent), and in Saxony it won almost the most seats, with more than 30 percent of the vote.

2. Uncontrolled migration in Germany is becoming one of the biggest concerns of voters.

The German electorate is increasingly frustrated with the wave of immigration into the country in recent years – especially in view of the stagnating German economy.

This frustration reached its peak last week when a Syrian stabbed three people and injured several others at a festival in the western German city of Solingen.

When it emerged after the attack that the man should have been deported months ago, anger at the German immigration system grew.

3. Despite the party's major gains in these two state elections, the AfD is unlikely to participate in the government in either state.

The reason for this is that all other parties in Germany have rejected a coalition government with the AfD.

Nevertheless, the nationalist, pro-Russian party could have enough seats in both states to block decisions that require a two-thirds majority, such as the appointment of judges and senior security officials.

4. A party at the other end of the political spectrum from the AfD, but which pursues similarly populist policies, namely the left-wing BSW party, has also caused a great stir in both federal states.

The Sahra Wageknecht Alliance (BSW), a party centered around a popular former communist politician, won more than 15 percent of the seats in Thuringia and more than 11 percent of the seats in the Saxon state parliament just eight months after its founding.

Like the AfD, the left-wing party supports restricting immigration to Germany and opposes German support for Ukraine, as it seeks a diplomatic solution to the war. The BSW's strong result is bad news for the German Social Democrats, the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, potentially drawing more left-leaning voters away from the party.

5. What today’s election result could mean for next year’s federal election

Perhaps most interestingly, the three nationally governing parties – the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal FDP – all suffered major losses in these state elections. This underlines how unpopular they have become not only among voters in the new federal states, but also at the national level.

It is clear that the country will see a shift to the right in the next federal election. That means stricter immigration rules and a greater focus on growing the stagnating German economy. We are also seeing this trend in other parts of Europe, notably in France, where a strong result for a right-wing party has so far failed to produce a new government.

Copyright: NPR