Right-wing, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) doubled its support in the western German state election in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) came first, securing 31 per cent of the vote, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 25.9 per cent. AfD came third with 19.5 per cent, more than doubling its previous support in the region, which has historically been a socialist stronghold. The SPD suffered a major setback, losing nearly 10 percentage points of support and recording its worst result in decades in the state.

At the same time, AfD’s result represents a significant breakthrough in western Germany, where the party has historically struggled to match its eastern strongholds.

Co-chair Alice Weidel welcomed the outcome, describing it as a ‘record result’, adding that in some districts the party reached up to 48.4 per cent. ‘Congratulations to all campaigners and thank you to our voters,’ she concluded.

AfD has also become the strongest party among young adults, garnering 22 per cent of the vote in this age group, while the CDU and SPD secured 14 and 19 per cent, respectively. ‘The state election in Rhineland-Palatinate has shown that the AfD is the future!’ the party’s official account declared in a post on X.

The result in Rhineland-Palatinate fits into a broader pattern of AfD strengthening beyond its eastern German strongholds, making the party a significant actor in western Germany—a region traditionally more resistant to AfD. In the state election in Baden-Württemberg held on 8 March, the party doubled its support, securing 18.8 per cent, up from around 9 per cent in 2021.

Similarly, in the municipal elections in Hessen, AfD secured 15.9 per cent statewide, more than doubling its vote share compared to 2021. In some municipalities, the party surpassed 25 per cent, while in others it came first ahead of the Greens, CDU, and SPD.

Beyond indicating growing popularity, these election results are also important for building long-term political infrastructure at the state level. Many analysts describe the current elections as ‘milestones’ in AfD’s consolidation.

‘Many analysts describe the current elections as “milestones” in AfD’s consolidation’

AfD is also the largest opposition party nationwide, despite the cordon sanitaire applied by mainstream parties against Alice Weidel’s political force. According to a March poll by INSA, AfD trails the CDU by 25 to 25.5 per cent, meaning the margin between the two parties is statistically negligible.

Despite its increasingly visible growth in support nationwide, including in western Germany, AfD is still designated as a ‘proven right-wing extremist’ party and ‘not compatible’ with a free democratic order by the country’s domestic intelligence agency, giving the BfV expanded surveillance powers to investigate the party and its leaders.

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