Carsten Linnemann

The Social Democrats (SPD) party of Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz narrowly won the election in the eastern state of Brandenburg on Sunday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday urged parties to avoid collaborating with the far right, after the AfD made record gains in two regional polls and his own coalition suffered a heavy defeat a year before a general election.

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.