German far right gains as governing parties decline, but conservatives lead in European election

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Projections show that Germany’s unpopular governing parties sank to feeble results and the far-right Alternative for Germany made gains in Sunday’s vote for the European Parliament, while the mainstream conservative opposition was the country’s strongest political force by a distance. The projections for public television showed support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats at around 14% after a campaign in which Scholz played a prominent role. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, was seen winning just over 16% of the vote for a probable second-place finish. That’s better than its showing of 11% in 2019 but still some way short of its poll ratings at the beginning of the year.