The far right is knocking on the door of power in Germany in the elections in Saxony and Thuringia

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) faces local elections that began this Sunday in two of the most powerful states in eastern Germany, and exponents of the former German Democratic Republic, such as unrivalled favourite in Thuringia and in a technical tie with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Saxony.

Just like five years ago, the CDU and AfD are neck and neck in the polls in Saxony, an election characterised by the emergence of the party founded by the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht.

His party, the Alliance for Reason and Justice, has become the third political force in the polls (with 15% of the votes) with a discourse that ranges from communist economic policy to the anti-immigration rhetoric typical of the AfD.

Wagenknecht’s alliance is also in third place in the polls in Thuringia with 17% of the voting intention, but far from the 30% assigned to the AfD (the CDU is at 22%).

In addition to the AfD’s top candidate from Thuringia and the standard-bearer of its most extremist wing, Björn Höcke, party chairwoman Alice Weidel is also expected to attend the rally. According to initial police reports, the AfD already has 1,300 supporters present. The number of participants from both sides could still increase.

Höcke, it should be recalled, was investigated for using the phrase “Schwarz” during a political rally in the city of Gera in December. Nazi motto “Alles für Deutschland”“Everything for Germany”, used in the 1930s by the Storm Section (SA), the paramilitary branch of the National Socialist Party of Germany (NSDAP), Adolf Hitler’s party.

“We will not allow the AfD to dominate the election weekend with its right-wing extremist agitation, intimidate people and abuse our city as a stage for its propaganda,” the “Auf die Plätze” alliance said in a statement.