BERLIN, September 2. /TASS/. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that the results of elections to regional legislatures in Saxony and Thuringia, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) saw big wins are worrying.
"The results for the AfD in Saxony and Thuringia are worrying," he told Reuters. "Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country's reputation."
The chancellor represents the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which, according to preliminary results, is forth in Saxony and fifth in Thuringia. However, prediction that the SPD might fail to make it to a state legislature for the first time have not come true, Scholz noted.
According to official preliminary results, the AfD came second with 30.6% of the vote after the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which scored 31,0% at Sunday’ elections in Saxony. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice" (BSW) was third with 11.8% of the vote. Its leader speaks against anti-Russian sanctions and arms supplies to Kiev. Scholz’s Social-Democratic Party won only 7.3% of the vote.
In Thuringia, Sunday’s elections were won by the AfD, which secured 32.8% of the vote to win a state election for the first time in its history. The CDU came second with 23.6%, and the BSW was third with 15.8%. The SPD managed to win only 6.1% of the vote but still will be represented in the regional legislature.