Germany held three regional elections this month, each yielding unique results that challenge a simplified narrative of far-right success. In Saxony-Anhalt's election on 6 September, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved a record score of 43.8%. Despite this, the party has not yet formed a government.
Two weeks later, the AfD again came in first in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with 38.2% of the vote. This outcome was overshadowed by a significant defeat for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which failed to enter a state parliament for the first time in the Federal Republic of Germany's history.
The Berlin state election, held on the same day, saw the Left party (Die Linke) achieve a notable victory, gaining almost double the new votes compared to the AfD, which placed third. Berlin is now likely to be governed by a Left-Greens-SPD coalition, led by Elif Eralp. A striking 54% of young women voted for the Left party, indicating a broader left-wing trend among this demographic.
While the success of the far right and the defeats of established parties are significant, two of the three states are likely to have left-wing governments, a development described as newsworthy given the increasing rarity of purely left-wing governments in Europe.