BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

BERLIN, June 25 (Reuters) - A far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate won a vote on Sunday to become a district leader in Europe's biggest economy for the first time, a breakthrough for the party which has hit record highs in national polls.

The 10-year old AfD, with which Germany's mainstream parties officially refuse to cooperate due to its radical views, won a run-off vote in the Sonneberg district in the eastern state of Thuringia with its candidate garnering 52.8% of the vote.

It is the latest success for the party which is riding a wave of popular discontent with Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz's awkward coalition with the Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) which is dogged by infighting over policy and the budget.

Polling at 19%-20%, behind the opposition conservatives, the AfD is tapping into voter fears about recession, migration and the green transition, say analysts. It even plans to nominate a chancellor candidate in the 2025 federal election.

While far-right parties have gained ground around Europe, the strength of the AfD is particularly sensitive in Germany due to the country's Nazi past.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, expressed deep shock.

"This is a watershed that this country's democratic political forces cannot simply accept," he told RND media.

Particularly strong in the former Communist East, polls suggest the party may win three eastern state votes next year.

A clear victory for the AfD's Robert Sesselmann in the district, which has a population of only around 56,000 people, sends a signal to Berlin, say analysts, especially as all other parties in Sonneberg joined forces in a front against him.

Sesselmann was forced into a run-off against a conservative candidate after a vote two weeks ago. The conservative candidate won 47.2% on Sunday.

The party opposes economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war and disputes that human activity is a cause of climate change.

The domestic intelligence agency said this month that far-right extremism posed the biggest threat to democracy in Germany and warned voters about backing the AfD.

Formed a decade ago as an anti-euro party, its popularity surged after the 2015 migrant crisis and it entered parliament in 2017, becoming the official opposition. Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Is there a federated alternative to Stack Exchange?

The words of Greta Thunberg this week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo

Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.

There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We're still speeding in the wrong direction

We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.

And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time

The words of Greta Thunberg this week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo

Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.

There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We're still speeding in the wrong direction

We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.

And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time

The words of Greta Thunberg this week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo

Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.

There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We're still speeding in the wrong direction

We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.

And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time

The words of Greta Thunberg this week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo

Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.

There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We're still speeding in the wrong direction

We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.

And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time

The words of Greta Thunberg this week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pyi0L7_vwo

Activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We are seeing now extremely worrying developments where activists all over the world are experiencing increased repressions just for fighting for our present and our future.

There is extreme hypocrisy when it comes to this. All over the world we're experiencing this. Not the least, for example, here in France. Just the other day - that activists are being systemically targeted with repression and are paying the price for defending life and the right to protest.

We're still speeding in the wrong direction

We are now at an extremely critical point. The emissions of greenhouse gasses are at an all-time-high, and the concentration of Co2 in the atmosphere hasn't been this high in the entire history of humanity.

And we're still speeding in the wrong direction. The emissions are on the rise, and science has been very clear on this. And the people living on the front-lines of the climate emergency have been sounding the alarm for a long time