State election in Thuringia: AfD is the strongest force, but without a majority
In the state election in Thuringia, the AfD achieved the strongest result. According to the preliminary official final result, the party reached 32.8 percent of the vote. While this makes it the strongest political force in parliament, it falls well short of an absolute majority.
The CDU follows in second place with 23.6 percent. The newly founded Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) achieved a major success in its first state election bid, entering the state parliament directly with 15.8 percent. The Left Party, which previously held the position of Minister-President, lost significant support and finished with 13.1 percent.
The SPD reached 6.1 percent, placing it only just above the five-percent hurdle. The Greens and the FDP, meanwhile, failed to enter parliament. For the FDP in particular, the result of under one percent is a historically poor outcome.
Forming a government in Thuringia is considered very difficult following this election result. Since all other parties have so far ruled out working with the AfD, new alliances are necessary. It remains to be seen which coalitions will be negotiated in the coming weeks to form a stable government.