They are expected to be nothing less than historic, upsetting the balances as we have known them in East Germany until now and possibly a harbinger of political developments in the central political arena. The reason for tomorrow’s elections in Saxony and Thuringia, in the heart of eastern Germany.

Thuringia: From the Left to the Far Right?

In Thuringia of 2 million inhabitants, the latest poll by the Forsa Institute gives the lead with 33% to the far-right Alternative for Germany, 22% to the Christian Democrats but also an impressive 17% to the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance, with fanatical supporters and a face-to-face election campaign of “Sarah”. 14% seems to be received by the ruling Left, while everything shows defeat for the parties of the federal government: 7% Social Democrats, 3% Greens and Liberals less than 3%.

The current Prime Minister of Thuringia Bodo Ramelo from the Left, who is popular throughout Germany, is apparently going through the last days of his left-wing premiership. He has been at the helm of Thuringia since 2014 and the only left-wing prime minister of a German state. In his last term he was at the helm of a minority government with the Social Democrats and the Greens.

But the key person in Thuringia is the extreme far-right Björn Hecke, who has been convicted of Nazi slogans and gestures, but his views are highly accepted by the citizens of Thuringia.

At the moment, however, no one wants to co-govern with him, so the formation of a next government under the AfD seems difficult with the Wagenknecht Alliance under the dynamic Katia Wolff, former mayor of the city of Eisenach, as a regulatory factor, but she rules out a co-government with Hecke.

Saxony: ‘Firewall’ against AfD

In Saxony, everything is being played for the first place with the Christian Democrats of the current Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer who co-govern with the Social Democrats and the Greens, on 33% and the AfD on 31%. They are followed by: Wagenknecht Alliance 12%, Social Democrats 7%, Greens 6%. The Liberals are running at extremely low percentages that the polls don’t even register.

Here a key figure on the Far Right is Georg Urban, the head of the AfD ballot, a water engineer by trade, more moderate in his public appearances than Hecke but just as hard on his positions. The current Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer has called many times for the other democratic parties to come together and raise a “firewall” against the Far Right, known as the “Brandmauer”. However, according to a poll, 45% of respondents from among the Christian Democrats in Saxony would not “absolutely” rule out a collaboration with the AfD.

Intense political processes in Berlin

In any case, on the night of the elections, a stir is expected in the political staffs of the parties in Berlin. If Chancellor Olaf Solz’s Social Democrats hover around 5%, it is possible that a chancellorship question will be raised, Bild writes, with the popular Defense Minister Boris Pistorius as a possible successor.

However, there is also activity in the offices of the Christian Democrats, with sources, also from Bild, reporting that an announcement by party president Friedrich Merz of his intention to be a chancellor candidate is expected soon, so that no more time is wasted. In fact, as the newspaper writes, it is possible that the announcement will first be made with a phone call to the Bavarian Markus Zender, head of the Christian Socialist Brothers and prime minister of Bavaria who also has ambitions for the chancellorship but no foothold in Berlin.

As for the presidium of K.O. of the Christian Democrats, meets next week and according to sources nothing is certain. The performance of the Christian Democrats in the parliament will be taken seriously. Germany.