State Elections in Thuringia and Saxony Advance Tectonic Shift

The local elections in in the two East German states of Thuringia and Saxony have produced an expected tectonic shift, casting question on how long the national “streetlight coalition” government of the SPD, the Free Democrats (FDP), and the Greens can survive. In Thüringia, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) captured 32.8% of the vote, the Christian Democrats 23.8%, and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) 15.5%, according to Deutsche Welle. In Saxony, the vote was CDU, 31.8%; AfD, 30.8%; and BSW, 12%.