The German right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is surging in popularity all across the country but in the eastern parts of Germany its support has reached such a high that it is now miles ahead of the other parties.
According to the polling institute INSA, 38% of voters in the eastern states of Germany would now vote for the AfD, followed by 18% for the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance, 12% for the far-left Die Linke, 10% for the Social Democrats, and 8% for the Greens.
In last year’s regional elections in three eastern states, AfD got 33% of the votes in Thuringia, 29% in Brandenburg, and 31% in Saxony.
With almost 4 out of 10 people voting for AfD in the East, the party has practically become an unavoidable political force, even though the mainstream parties continue to undemocratically maintain a cordon sanitaire around it.
