Two and a half months before the state election in Thuringia, a survey for Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk puts the AfD in first place ahead of the CDU and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). According to the survey published on Tuesday by the Infratest dimap institute, the AfD led by top candidate Björn Höcke is at 28 percent, followed by the CDU led by top candidate Mario Voigt with 23 percent. The BSW would reach 21 percent straight away.
Next, with eleven percent, is the Left Party of Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, which currently leads a minority government in Thuringia with the SPD and the Greens. The SPD is seen at seven percent, while the Greens would miss out on re-entry into the Erfurt state parliament with four percent. The FDP would also have to leave the state parliament with less than three percent.
Compared to a previous survey in March, the AfD lost one percentage point, while the CDU gained three points. The BSW improved by six points. The parties in the current state government all lost. The Left slipped by five points, the SPD lost two points, and the Greens lost one point.
Elections will be held in Thuringia on September 1st at the same time as Saxony, followed by Brandenburg on September 22nd. Forming a government would remain difficult, as no coalition known in Germany would have a majority. In a party conference resolution, the CDU ruled out coalitions with the AfD, which in Thuringia is classified by the state’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution as proven right-wing extremist, and with the Left Party.
The CDU could, however, form a coalition with the BSW and the SPD, which Voigt has not ruled out despite rejecting such cooperation at the federal level. CDU leader Friedrich Merz had rejected cooperation with the BSW a week ago, but then revised his position. In the states, other decisions would be made with a view to the ability to govern.