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.

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