Thuringia and Saxony are going to the polls in regional elections, and two parties are expected to do well: one on the far right and one on the far left. Unusually for local elections, the focus is on foreign policy and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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00:00Pirna, a small town between Dresden and the Czech border.
00:05Its early morning and already members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party are
00:10up campaigning.
00:12Polls indicate their party could win at least 30% in the regional elections, their best
00:17result yet.
00:19High above their election tent – a dove of peace.
00:22The IFD is making Germany's foreign policy a big issue locally.
00:27Especially its stance on Russia's war in Ukraine.
00:30I wish for Ukrainian people that the war will end.
00:35But can one still talk with Russia at all?
00:38I simply say, you can talk to anyone.
00:41You just have to do it.
00:42And I also think that if peace talks are on the horizon, Mr. Putin will definitely be
00:47willing to talk.
00:51Their message resonates with some voters.
00:54Many here oppose Germany's support for Ukraine.
00:57They say the war concerns them more than domestic issues.
01:02The most important thing for me is peace, not an arms race, dialogue.
01:11I wish for peace in the world.
01:14And I would like Germany not to get involved in this war even more.
01:22Elsewhere in Pirna, there is scepticism about the influence a regional vote can have on
01:27geopolitics.
01:30Peace is nice, but you shouldn't talk about that to the people here.
01:33You should tell it to Mr. Putin.
01:34You really have to think about what the Saxon government can do and what it can't.
01:40What does the state parliament in Saxony have to do with foreign policy issues?
01:46And it's not just the AFD.
01:48The newly formed left-wing Sarah Wagenknecht's alliance, or BSW, has centered its entire
01:54campaign around peace.
01:57It's a note which strikes a chord in East Germany, where nostalgia for the Soviet past
02:01and resentment towards USA and NATO are still strong.
02:06Over a thousand supporters have gathered in downtown Dresden to hear the founder and face
02:11of the party.
02:12A band plays a Russian song to warm up the crowd.
02:21But not everyone likes what they're hearing.
02:23Many say Wagenknecht's peace narrative is playing along with Putin's propaganda efforts.
02:30Putin is a war criminal who started this war of aggression, and he belongs before the court
02:35in The Hague.
02:39Sarah Wagenknecht is practically his spokeswoman in Germany.
02:43She's spreading his lies.
02:46Wagenknecht rejects this criticism.
02:49Don't let yourselves be fooled by tales that we are Putin's friends, when we are the ones
02:54advocating for peace and diplomacy.
02:57Whether these messages prove effective is ultimately down to voters in Saxony on Sunday.