Longtime Democrat warns of ‘extremely dangerous’ development within party Far-left primary victories signal shift as longtime Democrat Jamie Metzl urges party leaders to reject Democratic Socialists of America candidates. Metzl highlights Angie Nixon’s victory in the Florida primary as a warning sign, where she defeated her opponent despite having spent more. He argues that maintaining a moderate and patriotic two-party system is essential to American democracy. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party was projected to score a strong victory in Sunday’s regional elections, in a blow to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union. Merz’s party was projected to suffer a disastrous outcome in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was not immediately clear whether he would be able to fulfill that ambition. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s anti-immigration gubernatorial candidate, said that “we have written history.” State elections in Saxony-Anhalt. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Siegmund, 35, told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a message that “things cannot continue like this,” adding that it was “also a signal to Berlin.” “A very good activist for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz. Every day that this man is in the chancellery is too many,” he said of Germany’s unpopular leader. The AfD aimed to achieve an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern alone and overcome the so-called firewall of the main parties’ refusal to work with it. But long after the polls closed, it was unclear whether that goal would become a reality. “AfD is a far-right party. It wants to leave the euro; that would be economic ruin… it works closely with Russia, it wants a completely different social model,” said Franziska Hoppermann, national general secretary of Merz’s party. “We will not work with them.” Winning its first state government would be the biggest victory in the anti-immigration party’s 13-year history. Regardless of whether the AfD forms its own government, the projected result remains a blow to Merz, whose center-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years. Unlike other European countries, modern Germany has not had a far-right or far-right populist party leading a national, state, or major city government. After the projections for the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt were published, members of several coalitions protested against the AfD in Römer with signs reading “Antisocial, fascist, stupid!!!” (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP) AfD is the largest opposition party in Germany’s national parliament and is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt is located. Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as a confirmed far-right group by the national intelligence agency, citing its members’ contempt for immigrants from Muslim countries, among other things. The party promotes “remigration”, which pushes for the deportation of immigrants. Siegmund has said his top priorities include “a deportation offensive” and ending incentives for people to come to Germany and “exploit our social system.” He also wants to start a process to remove Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster over accusations of “disinformation.” Germany’s 16 states have broad powers, including overseeing security issues and managing the education system. An AfD leader in a neighboring state has appealed two convictions for knowingly using a Nazi slogan. The party has rejected accusations of extremism as politically motivated. GERMANY BLAMES RUSSIA AFTER FINDING DRONE LADED WITH EXPLOSIVES NEAR UKRAINIAN CARGO PLANES AT MAJOR AIRPORT German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Saxony-Anhalt state governor and leading candidate Sven Schulze give a press release after visiting UPM Biochemicals in Leuna, Germany. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Projections for public television ARD and ZDF, based on exit polls and partial counts, put the AfD with just over 44% of the vote, more than double what it got five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin. The Left Party, the center-left Social Democrats and the Greens won around 9% each. It was unclear whether the BSW party would reach the 5% of votes needed to win seats. Projections put the AfD at least marginally short of an absolute majority for now, but that could change. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
