Germans vote in state elections set to hand first victory to far right
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00:00Ballot in hand, German voters queue up at the polling station.
00:03They're voting in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia
00:06to elect their state parliamentarians.
00:09More than three decades after German reunification,
00:12polls suggest many in the east are disillusioned with mainstream politics
00:16and are choosing to turn to the far right.
00:19I'm really anxious so I'm very keen to see what happens today
00:23because I think there is a very high risk that the AFD will win
00:27and that scares me for my grandchildren and also for myself.
00:33At the moment, society is divided.
00:36People in my circle of friends have different opinions
00:39and don't know who to vote for.
00:42And that's why the general mood is so bad.
00:47In Thuringia, polls suggest that the far right
00:49Alternative for Germany party could come in first place.
00:53It's led by Björn Höcke,
00:55a man who has repeatedly used banned Nazi slogans at his rallies.
00:59In Saxony, it's a closer race,
01:01but polls suggest the conservative CDU holds a slight lead over the AFD.
01:07It is a critical election and probably the most important election in 34 years.
01:11And I am very grateful to the many people who have said,
01:14in previous years I have voted differently,
01:17but this time it has to be the great centrist force.
01:20It must be the Saxon CDU.
01:23Another unusual feat of this election,
01:25the rise of a new populist left party,
01:27led by hard-left icon Sarah Wagenknecht,
01:29projected to finish third in both states.
01:32This polling indicates a general rejection of the mainstream
01:35and a potential blow to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's
01:38left-leaning coalition government.
01:41Even if the AFD does come in first place in both states,
01:44most political parties have publicly ruled out any chance of a collaboration,
01:48meaning it's unlikely it will form a majority.
01:51But the result will be seen as a gauge of voter sentiment
01:54ahead of Germany's federal elections in 2025.