AfD's success in Germay is due to pandemic, war, inflation – Lithuanian formin

VILNIUS - The victory of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in regional elections was down to the pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine, inflation and other factors, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says.

"First of all, what we are observing now is a European trend and it is has to do with many elements," the minister told reporters on Tuesday. "It has to do with the pandemic, then there is the war, inflation, Russian disinformation, a lot of other things, and maybe sometimes a lack of strategic leadership," he noted.

In Sunday's election in Thuringia, the AfD won around 33 percent of the vote, and came in second in the neighboring Saxony.

Germany's most popular daily Bild described the results as a "political earthquake".

However, the AfD is unlikely to come to power as all other parties have ruled out forming a ruling majority with it, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on the main parties to keep the AfD out of power.

"There is basically a sanitary cordon for the AfD, preventing a party with anti-Semitic statements, pro-Russian, pro-Chinese statements from becoming part of the government," the minister said. 

However, according to Landsbergis, there is no similar unification trend in Lithuania.

"This is why it seems to me that, looking at Lithuanian politics, we are not yet European enough to be able to say that. So that we do not have political forces - anti-Semitic, pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian forces that are openly against our strategic direction as a country – in our government," he stressed.

"There is a good chance that Zemaitaitis will score well. Clearly, he enjoys the support of radical forces, but the question is what other political forces will do about it," Landsbergis underlined.

Vilija Blinkeviciute, leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, has hinted that she would not rule out forming a ruling coalition with the Dawn of the Nemunas (Nemuno Ausra), the party led by controversial politician Remigijus Zemaitaitis.

The Constitutional Court earlier this year ruled that Zemaitaitis broke his oath as an MP and violated the Constitution by making anti-Semitic statements. He avoided impeachment by resigning from the Seimas in April.