ZDF projection puts SPD at 32%, AfD at 29%
A second exit poll, from ZDF, also gives the SPD a narrow lead:
Social Democratic party (SPD): 32%
Alternative für Deutschland (AfD): 29%
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW): 12%
Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 11.5%
Greens: 4.5%
Key events
Summary of the evening
-
Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD) appears to have narrowly won an election in the state of Brandenburg, according to exit polls, with the far right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) taking second place.
-
Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg’s leader, who had gambled his future on the result, saying he would resign if his SPD lost to the AfD, said he was relieved, ‘considering the starting position we were in”. He also urged SPD members to “put on the euphoria brakes” as the final result was not fully clear.
-
At the AfD’s election gathering, Hans-Christoph Berndt, its main candidate, claimed his party were the “real victors” of the evening.
-
All eyes had been on Brandenburg, population-wise one of Germany’s smallest states, after strong showings for the AfD earlier this month in Thuringia, where they came top with around 33% and in Saxony, where they came a narrow second behind the conservative CDU with 27.5%.
And here are the latest ARD projections:
The latest projections from ZDF put the SPD at 31.3% and the AfD at 29.5%.
Alexander Clarkson, a lecturer for German and European Studies at King’s College London, said the projected results show “that however much BSW and AfD are expanding across the former GDR, there are big differences in local history, culture and economic structures between East German Länder that political analysis of Germany must take into account.”
Here are the latest images from Brandenburg’s election night.
And the updated projections from ARD:
In this projection, the SPD is at 31.2% and the AfD at 29.9%.
Here are updated projections from ZDF.
The SPD is at 31.8%, and the AfD at 29.2%.
Brandenburg SPD leader says he’s relieved, tells supporters to ‘put on the euphoria brakes’
Kate Connolly
Initial reactions are filtering in from party leaders after exit polls in Brandenburg show the Social Democrats in a narrow lead ahead of the far-right AfD.
At the Brandenburg SPD’s election gathering at the Old Post, a restaurant near the state parliament in Potsdam, there were jubilant cries as the news came in. One reporter on the scene called the response ‘cathartic’, after weeks of a nail biting campaign in which it looked like the party would lose to the AfD for the first time.
Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg’s leader, who had gambled his future on the result, saying he would resign if his SPD lost to the AfD, took to the floor around 6.15pm telling supporters he was relieved, ‘considering the starting position we were in”.
“We said we’d take on this battle and we said our goal at the outset was to ensure our land didn’t get a big brown stamp on it,” he said.
But he urged SPD members to “put on the euphoria brakes” as the final result was not fully clear.
The far right AfD has called its performance in Brandenburg a huge success, thanking its campaigners and voters.
ZDF projection puts SPD at 32%, AfD at 29%
A second exit poll, from ZDF, also gives the SPD a narrow lead:
Social Democratic party (SPD): 32%
Alternative für Deutschland (AfD): 29%
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW): 12%
Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 11.5%
Greens: 4.5%
Source link
[redirect url=’https://fastpowers.com/’ sec=’3′]