Angela Merkel news: Who is the German far-right party threatening to oust Merkel’s party?

ANGELA MERKEL is Germany’s first female chancellor and has a reputation for her trademark pragmatism which has helped her to steer the country through periods of political and economic turbulence. But how is a far right party becoming a real threat to Ms Merkel’s party?

assumed office as the Chancellor of in 2005. She served as leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2000 to 2018 and is widely considered to be the most powerful woman in the world. But why is a far right German political party threatening to take down this stalwart politician?

A German far-right party has beaten the centre-right party of Chancellor Angela Merkel into third place in a regional election, exit polls suggest.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) won roughly 23 percent against 22 percent for the CDU in Thuringia, a state in the former East Germany.

The AfD more than doubled its vote, from 10.6 percent five years ago.

The far-left party Linke, which is part of the ruling leftist coalition, got the most votes, winning the position at around 30 percent of the vote, an increase overall.

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Angela Merkel news: Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, and AfD leader Bjoern Hoecke (Image: GETTY)

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One of Linke’s coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), saw support drop at the polls from 12.8 percent to 8 percent.

While its other partner, the Greens, maintained its support at about 5 percent. 

Thuringia, an ex-communist eastern state, saw gains for the far-right party on Sunday.

The AfD’s strong performance at the vote came despite widespread criticism of the anti-immigration party after an attack in Halle on October 9 where a suspected neo-Nazi gunman tried and failed to storm a synagogue then shot dead two peopl outside.

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Angela Merkel news: Angela Merkel was the leader of CDP for 18 years (Image: GETTY)

Following the tragic attack, Felix Klein, the commissioner for combatting anti-Semitism, argued that AfD had trafficked in incendiary anti-Jewish sentiment.

The Thuringia campaign has been marked by anger, threats and recriminations, with CDU candidate Mike Mohring labelling the AfD’s local leader, the nationalist hardliner Björn Höcke, a “Nazi”.

The result is damning for both the CDU and SPD which together govern Germany as the results will likely exacerbate the struggles for leadership in both parties.

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Managing Director at consultancy Teneo, Carsten Nickel, said: “At the geographical heart of Germany, even all centrist parties combined would still lack a majority.” 

He added: “In light of another strong showing from the far-right, the CDU debate about the right path into the post-Merkel world will certainly continue.”

The latest result shows that almost a year after the CDU voted her their leader, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has failed to stamp her authority on the party and members are debating whether she is the right person to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.

Angela Merkel news: Bjoern Hoecke

Angela Merkel news: Bjoern Hoecke, head of Alternative feur Deutschland political party (Image: GETTY)

The election in the state of more than two million people was watched closely as an indicator of wider German sentiment in the AfD heartland.

The AfD was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party.

However it dramatically shifted its focus to immigration and Islam, building support during the migrant crisis of 2015.

Its leader in Thuringia, former history teacher Bjoern Hoecke, has been widely criticised by Jewish leaders and mainstream parties after he dismissed Berlin’s Holocaust memorial as a “monument of shame”.

The party shocked many when it won seats in the national parliament for the first time.

The AfD is trying to build momentum in the east and campaigned in Thuringia for “Wende”, a word used to describe the fall of East German Communism.

Bjoern Hoecke told AFD: “Thuringians have voted for the Wende 2.0.”

He added: “This is a clear sign that a large part of Thuringia says: This can’t go on. We need renewal - this should be taken seriously.”

The CDU, actually came first in Thuringia in 2014 with 33.5 percent, but has previously refused to cooperate with the Linke, despite its surge in popularity.

None of the parties is willing to form a coalition with the AfD.