In Thuringia, a battle between the AfD and CDU is imminent.

Regional voting events take place. - In Thuringia, a showdown is expected between the AfD and CDU.

The apprehensions were colossal, yet the deafening boom never went off: the right-wing AfD party's Björn Höcke saw an improvement in its standing within the Thuringian municipal councils, but failed to clinch a win during the initial round of county council and mayor elections. Instead, they'll be locking horns with the CDU party in several districts during the re-election on the 9th of June.

In terms of vote shares, both parties were in a tied race within the county councils and city councils. Hans Vorländer, a political scientist from Dresden, expressed his thoughts to the German Press Agency in Erfurt by saying, "In this moment, attributing a breakthrough to the AfD is doubtful. The most severe fears have yet to materialize."

Both experts and the AfD itself foresee a more executive role for the party in the municipal committees. Avoiding them might become a daunting task. Might the metaphorical wall of fire in municipalities finally dissolve?

The AfD wavers on personnel

Four months prior to the state elections, the AfD designated nine of their 13 candidates for county council and mayor in a re-election. The only AfD candidate who overtook his rival was in the Altenburg district. Thuringia's SPD state chairman, Georg Maier, hinted that his party might support CDU contenders during the upcoming runoff elections. The AfD struggled immensely in the honorary mayoral elections.

André Brodocz, an Erfurt political scientist, stated to the dpa that, "The AfD appears to be persuading voters less with their people than their slogans." Lembcke, another political scientist, observed that the AfD had tarnished its image due to scandals linked to its European election candidates: "The AfD has estado vedado with how they've conveyed the worst possible image in the past few weeks."

Yet, it's making remarkable gains in the votes for municipal parliaments, i.e., city councils and county councils. The party showed marked advancement and, with the tallying drawing to a close on Monday afternoon, it had 26.1% nationwide, trailing behind the CDU at 27.4%. In ten districts and free cities, it held the strongest position or was close to it. Sonneberg witnessed the AfD bagging 34.7%. There, Robert Sesselmann was the AfD county councilor.

This development has repercussions for the majority formation in parliaments, as per Lembcke: "It'll become even more challenging to disregard them, in some cases, it might no longer be feasible." Brodocz believes the so-called wall of fire only existed at the federal and state levels - "at the local level, it's been surrendered in many instances."

The CDU emerges with a stronger footing from the voting, while others succumbed to losses. The CDU candidates won the mayoral contests in Suhl and Weimar convincingly. In Erfurt, the CDU candidate, Andreas Horn, outmaneuvered SPD's Andreas Bausewein, forcing a runoff.

The SPD, Greens, and FDP witnessed a decline in votes, with decreasing votes reported in the municipal parliaments. However, the SPD nabbed a county council seat directly. In Jena, the Greens and FDP split the mayoral election between themselves.

An Impressive Beginning for Wagenknecht Alliance

The initial foray of the Wagenknecht Alliance BSW into Thuringia's elections piqued the interest of political scientist Brodocz. Despite only participating sporadically, the new party drew support ranging from 7% to 12%. It could turn things upside down during the September state elections, envisioned Brodocz in a national context. The districts of Greiz, Gotha, and Wartburg bore double-digit results for the upstart party. In Bleicherode, BSW candidate Robert Henning secured the mayoral post.

Astonishing Runoff Results for Neo-Nazi in County Council Election

The neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck aroused excitement as he breached the runoff for the county council election in Hildburghausen, capturing 24.9% of the votes. Yet, the opposing candidate Sven Gregor, at 42.4%, is anticipated to prevail. There was no AfD candidate present. Frenck's political group, "Future Alliance Hildburghausen" (BZH), evolved into the leading neo-Nazi faction in the Hildburghausen district, according to the 2022 Constitution Protection Report. Frenck gained national attention for organizing a string of massive neo-Nazi concerts; individuals from various European countries attended these gatherings.