The export opinion poll showed that the German Christian Democratic Party resisted the challenge of the far-right AfD and won 36% of the votes.

On Sunday, the conservatives led by German Chancellor Merkel won a sweeping victory in the state elections in eastern Germany, boosting Armin Laschet, who hopes to succeed her in the September national election.

An export poll conducted by the public broadcasting company MDR in Saxony-Anhalt showed that the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) has a support rate of 36%, which is 6 percentage points higher than five years ago and far ahead of the far-right. Alternative Party of Germany (AfD). 22.5%, a slight decrease from the previous election.

The centrist Raschelt is seen as an uncertain start to the campaign and is facing calls for a more right-wing line to win back voters disappointed in the 16 years of compromise under Merkel’s leadership.

“We won the election,” Reina Haseloff, the governor of Saxony-Anhalt, said after the results of the export poll. “The vast majority of our citizens said that we do not want to be associated with AfD. I am grateful for this.”

Before the federal election, he and other conservatives praised the result to their advantage.

“This will give us a boost in Berlin,” said Ralph Brinkhaus, leader of the National Conservative Party’s caucus. “This is a victory for Armin Raschelt.”

Armin Raschelt hopes to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the September national election [Marcel Kusch/Pool via Reuters]

In recent years, AfD has moved steadily to the right, and its branch in Saxony-Anhalt has been increasingly scrutinized by German domestic intelligence agencies due to its relationship with extremist groups.

Although the elections in the 16 German states are often affected by local issues and voting sentiment, they are also regarded as an important indicator of national sentiment.

The strong victory of the CDU will be seen as a sign that the new leader of the party, Raschelt, is expected to receive support from conservatives and centrists on September 26. Although Merkel has served as prime minister for four terms, its goal is to Remain in power at the federal level. Doesn’t run anymore.

At the same time, if the prediction based on the partial count is confirmed, the election result will be a strong support for Haseloff, and he can now choose from three possible small party alliances.

The 67-year-old’s popularity in the state has created a strong appeal to voters. He ruled out any cooperation with the AfD or the former communist left-wing party. They are expected to get 10.9% of the vote-this is the reason. The state’s historical low.

The center-left Social Democratic Party, the junior partner of Merkel’s ruling coalition, performed worse than it was five years ago. It is expected to receive a support rate of about 8.4%, while the environmentalist Green Party rose slightly, with only 6.2% support. rate.

For Annalena Baerbock, the leader of the Green Party, the success of the CDU depends on voters who try to stop AfD. She said that many people voted for the CDU because they “do not want right-wing extremists in the government.”

However, she admitted that the performance of the Green Party was not as good as expected because she attributed the performance to the “specific” electoral pattern in Saxony-Anhalt.

The Green Party has traditionally been weaker in eastern Germany where there are fewer cities, which rely more on carbon-intensive industries that the Green Party hopes to phase out.

The forecast also showed that the pro-business Liberal Democrats re-entered the state legislature after missing out five years ago, earning 6.5%.