Far-right AfD misses out in key German election, polls show

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland party appeared last night to have narrowly missed victory in an election in the German state of Brandenburg, three weeks after making gains in two other regions.

- Kate Connolly

In what had widely been interpreted as a referendum on the federal government of Olaf Scholz before next autumn's general election, his Social Democratic party (SPD) appeared to have clawed back its lead over the anti-immigrant populists who had been on course to seize victory in the state for the first time.

Exit polls pointed to a close finish, with the SPD polling 31.3% to the AfD's 29.5%, and with both parties making gains of 5 to 6 points on their performance at the last election.

The fledgling "leftist conservative" Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a pro-Kremlin party which has called for an end to military aid to Ukraine, appeared to have secured 12%, making it a likely contenderina new administration.

With much seen to be at stake in the election, turnout was high at 74%.

The SPD's Dietmar Woidke, who has led Brandenburg for 11 years, had upped the ante by promising to resign if the AfD beat his party, in what was seen as a high-stakes gamble based on his own popularity as "father of the state".

The AfD, which has been classified as a rightwing extremist organisation in Brandenburg by domestic intelligence agencies, had also called for Scholz to resign under the same circumstances.