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In his first reaction to the state elections, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the formation of “stable governments without far-right extremists.”
According to Tagesschau, Chancellor Scholz described the election results as “bitter” and urged parties in Saxony and Thuringia to form alliances without the “Alternative for Germany” (AfD).
“All democratic parties are now called upon to form stable governments without far-right extremists,” said Scholz.
He expressed concern over AfD’s results in Saxony and Thuringia, stating, “Our country cannot and should not get used to this. The AfD harms Germany. It weakens the economy, divides society, and damages our country’s reputation,” Scholz emphasized.
At the same time, the Social Democrat praised the unity within his own SPD. “The results of Sunday’s elections are bitter—even for us. Nevertheless, the SPD is standing together,” he stressed. They conducted a good and clear campaign together. “It was worth it because the bleak predictions for the SPD did not come true,” he said, highlighting that the fight is worthwhile.
“Now it’s about a continuous struggle for more and more approval,” he added. Scholz thanked the SPD campaigners and the leading candidates, Petra Köpping (Saxony) and Georg Maier (Thuringia).
Earlier, SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert emphasized that the government and the chancellor need to better and more frequently explain their policies. The chancellor is the head of government, and he is most closely associated with how people perceive governance from Berlin, Kühnert said in an interview with ZDF.
According to the election results in Saxony and Thuringia, Scholz’s party garnered 7% and 6% of the vote, respectively.
Preliminary data from the election commission show that the “Alternative for Germany” won 32.8% of the votes, achieving its first-ever victory in state elections. Its closest competitor, the CDU, received only 23.6%.
In Saxony, the CDU had a slight lead with 31.9%, while AfD came in second with 30.6%.
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