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Merkel’s party wins key state vote: Exit poll | Germany News

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German Christian Democrats are defending the far-right AfD challenge with 36% of the vote, according to opinion polls.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservatives won a landslide victory in Sunday’s East German election, giving a boost to Armin Laschet, who hopes to succeed in the September national election.

Surveys of the MDR for public television in Saxony-Anhalt polled Christian Democrats (CDUs) by 36 per cent, six points more than five years ago, and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was 22.5% on the far right compared to previous elections.

Centrist Laschet was seen as making a sure start to his election campaign, and at Merkel’s behest 16-year-old compromises called on him to draw the right path to win back disillusioned voters.

“We have won the election,” Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said after the exit ballots were taken out. “A large majority of citizens have said that we do not want to be associated with AfD. And I’m grateful for that. “

He and other conservatives broke the result before the federal election.

“This will give us a boost for Berlin,” said Ralph Brinkhaus, head of the national conservative caucus. “It’s a victory for Armin Laschete.”

Armin Laschet hopes German Chancellor Angela Merkel succeeds in September national election [Marcel Kusch/Pool via Reuters]

In recent years the AfD has steadily moved to the right and the Saxony-Anhalt chapter has received increasing scrutiny from the German home intelligence service thanks to its links with extremist groups.

Although elections in 16 German states are often marred by local problems and voting feelings, they are also seen as an important bellows for the national atmosphere.

The CDU’s strong victory would be seen as a sign that Laschet, the party’s new leader, could expect the help of conservatives and centrists on September 26, despite four terms in Merkel four times, when she wants to retain power at the federal level. not running again.

Meanwhile, if the election result were to confirm projections based on partial counts, it would be a strong endorsement for Haseloff, who now has the convenience of choosing from three coalitions that can be held with smaller parties.

The 67-year-old man, whose reputation in the state was a huge force for voters, ruled out cooperating with the traditional AfD or communist left party, which was expected to get 10.9% of the vote – a state record. .

The center-left Social Democrats, junior members of Merkel’s governing coalition, went worse than five years ago and expected to get about 8.4 percent, while Green Greens made small gains of 6.2 percent.

For the head of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock, the success of the CDU was due to voters who wanted to block the AfD. Many people voted in favor of the CDU because “they didn’t want the far right in government,” he said.

However, he admitted that the Green show was less than expected, as the performance was attributed to the “precise” electoral landscape of Saxony-Anhalt.

Greens are traditionally weaker in eastern Germany, with fewer cities relying on high-carbon industries that the greens expect to disappear.

Projections showed that free pro-business Democrats re-entered the state assembly after losing five years ago, receiving 6.5 percent.



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