German far-right wins historic state poll

A screen shows first exit polls of the state election in Thuringia at the headquarters of Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party, SPD, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024.

Germany's far-right AfD was Monday celebrating a landmark win in a regional vote, sending a shot across the bows of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government a year ahead of national elections.

"We are ready and willing to talk to all parties," the Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Tino Chrupalla said, warning there would be "no politics without the AfD."

The anti-immigration party topped the polls for the first time ever in the former East German state of Thuringia with around 33 percent of the vote and was headed for a close second place in neighboring Saxony.

But Sunday's election winner will find it hard to put together a working majority in Thuringia, with other parties having repeatedly ruled out collaboration with the AfD.

The memory of the Nazis, who also scored an initial state election success in Thuringia, makes working with far-right parties highly taboo.

"Voters know that we do not form coalitions with the AfD," said Carsten Linnemann, the general secretary of the conservative CDU.

But Chrupalla called on other parties to drop their long-standing "firewall" against the AfD and instead respect the will of the voters.

'Reasonable government' 

The CDU only narrowly edged out the AfD with 32 percent of the vote in Saxony and came second in Thuringia.

The conservatives still hold hopes of leading the next government in Thuringia, with its lead candidate Mario Voigt appealing for a "reasonable government" in a coalition led by the CDU.

The AfD's controversial local leader, Björn Höcke,...