A far-right party won a state election in East Germany for the first since World War II and was close to winning in a second state. Called “Alternative for Germany”, or AfD, the far-right party obtained 32.8% of the vote in Thuringia, followed by its main national opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which obtained 23.6%. In Saxony, the AfD was able to get 30.6% of the vote, losing by just 1.3 points to the CDU, which received 31.9% in this election. Such victory and increase in popularity started concerning several people, especially after noticing a significant rise in far and extreme right parties around Europe.

“An openly right-wing extremist party has become the strongest force in a state parliament for the first time since 1949, and that causes many people profound concern and fear,” said Omid Nouripour, a leader of one of the national governing parties, the Greens. This can be a sign that the nationalist, anti-immigrant politics of the AfD are becoming more and more popular in the country.

The rising popularity of the Alternative for Germany party can have several consequences in the country, especially considering that the next federal election will happen in September 2025. The AfD’s strong anti-immigration position could influence Germany’s immigration policies, affecting directly its relations with countries that have significant migrant populations in Germany. Moreover, the rise of a far-right party in the country can affect Germany’s global perception by other nations, which would consequently impact its diplomatic relations.

It is important to highlight that in this same election, the new party founded by a prominent leftist, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), also made a strong impact, winning more than 15% of seats in Thüringen and more than 11% of seats in Saxony’s parliament. However, in contrast, the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s national government — the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the libertarian Free Democratic Party — all presented extremely weak results, which emphasizes how unpopular they have become among voters.

As more state elections are scheduled to happen this year, Germans are waiting to see how politics will unfold in the country before the big federal election in 2025. After this first round of results, one can expect that the country will make a shift to the right in the next year. Such behavior follows the pattern of other countries in Europe such as France, Italy, and Sweden, places where an increased influence and popularity of their far-right parties have been perceived. The current tendency raises concerns about the potential impact on peace and security relations within the European Union countries, which can affect the globe as a whole.