CDU Claims Victory in North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections, Far-Right AfD Achieves Record Gains

As final tallies emerge from Sunday’s municipal elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has secured a decisive victory. Initial forecasts, now confirmed, show the CDU taking approximately 34% of the vote.

However, the elections, the first local polls since Friedrich Merz assumed the chancellorship in May, also marked a significant milestone for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party garnered an impressive 16.5% of the vote, more than tripling its 2020 support of 5.1%. This surge underscores the AfD’s growing influence, particularly as it solidifies its position as the second-strongest political force nationally.

The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) secured 22.5% of the vote. While the AfD’s traditional base has been in eastern Germany, these results indicate a successful push to capitalize on a broader shift towards the right in western German states.

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