Far-right AfD surge to second place in German state election, beating Merkel's party
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The German far right won a higher share of the vote than Angela Merkel’s party in a regional election on Sunday, according to exit polls. Mr Hoecke told supporters on Sunday that the AfD “will be a people’s party for all of Germany”, adding that the preliminary result was “a clear sign that a large part of Thuringia says this can’t go on, we need renewal. This should be taken seriously.” The left-wing Die Linke party, which has governed the region in coalition with the Greens and Social Democrats, won the highest share of the vote with 30.1 per cent while the German chancellor’s conservative Christian Democratic Union came third with 22.1 per cent.