Mario Voigt, a leader of Germany’s mainstream conservative party, has watched with concern the slow but steady string of victories notched by the far-right Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD.
In his home state of Thuringia, in eastern Germany, the AfD just last month won the district administrator’s seat, giving the far right bureaucratic authority over an area for the first time.
Since the spring, the AfD has only gathered momentum.
The party has gained at least four points in polls since May, rising to 20 percent support and overtaking the country’s governing center-left Social Democrats to become Germany’s second-strongest party.
A more recent poll, released on Sunday, put the AfD at a record high of 22 percent support.
Persons:
Mario Voigt, Voight’s, Angela Merkel
Organizations:
Social Democrats, Christian Democratic Union
Locations:
Germany, Thuringia