In Germany, Olaf Scholz’s party narrowly wins regional election against far-right

A narrow victory. The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) won a key regional election against the far right on Sunday, September 22, offering a respite to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is increasingly criticized and weakened at the national level. The SPD is credited with 31 to 32% of the vote in this election in Brandenburg, which surrounds the capital Berlin, against 29 to 30% for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to exit polls by television channels.

The result represents a new breakthrough for the German far right, after two record scores in two other recent regional elections, in Thuringia, which the AfD won, and in Saxony, where it came in just behind the conservatives. But the Brandenburg result is a disappointment for this anti-migrant and pro-Russian movement, which until recently had been ahead of the Social Democrats in the polls.