Following the European elections, CDU and AfD politicians anticipate support for upcoming state elections.
Voigt urged for a new beginning in the country: "Thuringia needs a fresh start, and that can only be achieved through the CDU." Currently, the state is being governed by a coalition of the Left Party, SPD, and Greens, with Bodo Ramelow leading the way as Minister President.
Redmann, the CDU candidate for the Brandenburg state election, viewed the initial results of the European election as an indication of how much the policies of the SPD, Greens, FDP, and AfD are turning voters away. "The people want a change," he stated. He saw the CDU as the only party with a genuine option for the public. In Brandenburg, the SPD is headed by Minister President Dietmar Woidke, in a government that also includes the CDU and Greens.
Based on the initial forecasts, the union emerged as the most powerful force in the European election in Germany, with the AfD coming in second. The "traffic light" parties (SPD, Greens, and FDP) received a blow from voters. The SPD, in particular, fell back to third place in the projections. In addition, the Greens and FDP lost support.
In the eastern part of Germany, the AfD came out on top in the European election, according to an ARD projection. The right-wing populists captured approximately 27 percent of the votes in eastern federal states, including Berlin. The CDU came in second with around 21 percent, followed by the Left Party with about 13 percent of the votes.
The spokesperson for the AfD state association in Thuringia, a group labeled as right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, considered the European election outcome for his party "a great foundation for the state elections in September."
AfD European candidate Aust from Thuringia announced in a video that his party plans to leverage the good result for the impending state election: "We'll use this momentum to propel ourselves to becoming the biggest party in the country and elect our first minister-presidents."
Saxony's AfD state leader Jörg Urban also applauded the party's solid gains, especially in the eastern German federal states.
New state parliaments will be elected on September 1st in Saxony and Thuringia, and on September 22nd in Brandenburg. The AfD has held the lead in the polls in all three states for months.
