Anti-refugee sentiment sways Germany’s regional elections
Migrant issues play key role in Germany's regional elections this year as the country’s right-wing anti-refugee political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) makes major gains in three key states.
The AfD gained access to state parliament for the the first time with double-digit percentage in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony-Anhalt during Sunday’s polls, the country’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.
According to estimates and first results, the anti-refugee party won 24.2 percent in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, making it the largest party after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) which raked in 29.8 percent of the votes.
The AfD also gained 12.4 percent in Rhineland-Palatinate and 15 percent in Baden-Württemberg.
The AfD’s gains are thought to be fueled by rising anger against Merkel’s asylum policy, according to which over a million refugees entered Germany.
“We don’t want to take in any refugees and we’ll keep pushing the other parties to follow us,” said Alexander Gauland, an AfD leader, while campaigning against asylum seekers.
Merkel’s ruling party suffered defeats in two of the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg where it gained 27.1 percent of the votes and Rhineland Palatinate where it collected 31.8 percent.
“The CDU was beaten in these three states because the people don’t like Merkel and her policies,” said Gauland during a TV interview on Sunday.
Europe is facing its worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II as vast numbers of asylum seekers fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East try to gain access to the continent.
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