Sunday will see another state election whose results will be pored over by pundits for signs about the future of German politics.
The eastern German state of Thuringia is getting ready to elect a new parliament, with the latest polls showing the socialist Left party (on 26% – 29%) holding onto a narrow lead over both the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The two parties in Angela Merkel’s coalition government, the CDU and the Social Democrats (SPD), got away with the proverbial black eye in last month’s elections in eastern Germany: in Saxony and Brandenburg. They maintained their status as the biggest parties (the CDU in Saxony and the SPD in Brandenburg), but had to watch the AfD come a close second by stealing a significant chunk of their voters.
Thuringia is another test of whether Germany’s political centre can hold, especially for the CDU’s new leader and Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Via DW
