Germany's SPD fends of far right in state vote as federal elections near

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00:00The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats have staved off

00:04the far-right in a regional election.

00:06What is being seen as a last-minute comeback.

00:08The win, then, likely providing him with a reprieve,

00:11if only brief, from growing criticism of his leadership.

00:14The SPD winning 31% of the vote,

00:17with the far-right AFD winning over 29%.

00:20Earlier this month, you'll remember, the AFD became the first

00:23far-right party to win a state election in Germany since World War II.

00:27Earlier, we spoke to a correspondent in Berlin.

00:29Nick Holdsworth, and he was asked what this could mean

00:32for the soon-to-come federal elections in Germany.

00:37We've got federal elections coming up in September of next year.

00:42The ruling coalition will be under a lot of pressure from the AFD.

00:46What does need to be said, though, is that the AFD's popularity

00:50is largely in the east, in those former East German states,

00:55where, to this day, there are disparities in pension income,

01:00in the number of people who are in senior management positions,

01:03that sort of thing.

01:04There's a degree of resentment.

01:06However, all of these states in East Germany

01:09have slight differences in history and tradition,

01:13and that is all reflected in the way they vote.

01:16There is a common concern about immigration,

01:18which is the key issue which the AFD has been campaigning on.

01:22But it's not by any means universally saying,

01:27shut the doors, send them back,

01:29the sort of things we sometimes hear from the AFD.

01:32And in West Germany, again, a very different tradition.

01:37The AFD unlikely to make much headway in West Germany.

01:41So when it comes to those federal elections next year,

01:44the AFD are going to be putting on a very tough battle

01:47against the ruling coalition.

01:50However, they may not do as well across Germany

01:53as they've done in these specific states

01:56in the former East of Germany.

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