For the first time since the fall of Nazism, the far right will have a government in Germany

A The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a referendum on Sunday Must be the first time A district leader in Europe’s largest economyA turnaround for a party that has reached an all-time high in national polls.

The AfD, which has existed for 10 years and refuses to officially cooperate with the main German parties because of its radical views, won a run-off in the district of Schönberg in the eastern state of Thuringia, where it took 52.8% of the vote. votes.

It is the latest victory for the party, which has been hit by a wave of popular discontent over Social Democratic President Olaf Scholes’ uneasy alliance with the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP), beset by infighting over policy and the budget.

The German government today avoided a definitive statement on the far-right party’s election victory. “I think it’s unusual for the federal government to comment on an election for a district president, so I won’t do that.”Dsaid government spokesman Steffen Hepstreit.

The AfD, which ranks 19-20% behind the opposition conservatives in opinion polls, is capitalizing on voter fears about recession, immigration and environmental change, according to analysts. He also plans to field a presidential candidate in the 2025 federal election.

Although far-right parties are present across Europe, AfD’s strength is particularly sensitive in Germany because of the country’s Nazi past.

Joseph Schuster, head of the Central Council of German Jews, expressed his deep shock. “This is a turning point that cannot be accepted by the democratic political forces in this country,” he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the ex-communist east, polls suggest the party will win three eastern state votes next year.

Robert Cesselmann’s clear victory in a district of only about 56,000 people sends a signal to Berlin.All of Sonberg’s other parties have rallied into a front against him, analysts say.

Cesselman was forced to run against a conservative candidate after the referendum two weeks ago. The conservative candidate received 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine and denies that human activity is one of the causes of climate change.

Far-right extremism is the biggest threat to democracy in Germany, the National Intelligence Agency said this month and warned voters to support the AfD.

Formed more than a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity soared after the 2015 migration crisis and it entered parliament in 2017 as the official opposition.