Far-right AfD forecast to make gains as North Rhine-Westphalia goes to polls | Germany

Germany’s extreme right alternative Für Deutschland (AFD) party is expected to gain significant gains in local elections, which have been seen as the first important election test of Friedrich Merz since the voters in the country’s most crowded state began to work four months ago.

North Rhine Rhine Rhine-Westphalia, which hosts almost one quarter of Germany citizens, agricultural lands, post-industrial towns and cities with large multi-ethnic and student population, is seen as a bell for the country as a whole.

According to the final opinion polls, Merz’s conservative Christian democratic union will course with approximately 35% of the votes to maintain the dominant position in the state.

Five years ago, the extreme -right populist AFD disappeared between two and three times the performance of the state in the last local elections and gave the candidates for the mayor’s positions to reach the second round of votes within two weeks.

Attention to voting throughout the country will focus on whether AfD can repeat the great gains in the former Communist Eastern states.

Voting is the lock problem of AFD, which is uncomfortable with the increase in unemployment and the increasing unemployment on the ground of a weakened German economy.

Merz promised to put the economy back on the way, reduce migration and reduce it to almost greatness.

Since the Federal elections of February, AFD has been on the top in several national opinion polls.

The Social Democratic Party, a small partner of the coalition government, faces a violent war to survive in some regions – especially in the old coal text regions, which was once confident of victory.

AFD says that the more successful it is in providing a basis in local political positions, securing the mayors and councilors, the more difficult it will be to maintain the promises of prevention of political cooperation with the Federal level of the mainstream parties.

In the North Rhine Rhine-Westphalia campaign, the international issues played a role in Merz’s Merz’s social democratic predecessor Olaf Scholz, even if they only interact with local political issues.

While empties the Trump administration support, the role he tried to bring together on the defense of Ukraine was paid attention. However, in the immigration, which Germany promised to change its policy significantly, voters said they were not convinced despite the fall of numbers in recent months.

Although AFD has not been decided on these policy areas at the local level, it is presented as a confident alternative with voters on issues such as energy presentation, education and migration.