Söder speaks of a turning point after state elections

Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder has described the AfD's good performance in the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony as a turning point in German post-war history. "This is already a turning point. Even if the polls had indicated it: When the election result becomes real, then you first feel what has changed in Germany," the CSU politician told the radio station Bayern 2.

Söder did not explicitly comment on whether the CDU in Thuringia should stick to its decision of incompatibility with the left. The important goal now must be to form a stable government "that can then also achieve something", he said. "Perhaps more than just saying we don't like Mr. Höcke, by the way. Instead, politics must also be shaped. And in the end, only those who have a real chance of forming a government, Michael Kretschmer and Mario Voigt, can do that." Either way, it is a very sour apple to bite into.

It was understandable that the CDU had reservations about working with the Left and the BSW, said Söder. That would normally be completely unimaginable. "But the unimaginable became a democratic reality yesterday."

The traffic light coalition in Berlin was responsible for the rise of the AfD, said Söder. "The traffic light is a smoking ruin in the east. And that is why this is already a profound turning point in German party history and post-war history, which must be dealt with intensively."