Right-wing AfD hits new milestone in regional vote

2026-03-23 - 16:00

The party gained unprecedented support in an election in a former West German state The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has reached an electoral milestone outside of its traditional political heartland, the second such achievement in less than a month. The party secured nearly 20% of the vote in regional elections in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. AfD finished third behind Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats – the two parties that have traditionally dominated the political landscape in the state ever since the 1950s. It achieved the highest result for any third party in