AfD President Meuthen Praises 'Excellent Result' In Bavaria Voting

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2018) The president of Alternative for Germany (AfD) told Sputnik he was satisfied with his party's showing in this Sunday's Bavarian parliamentary race, dampened only by a breakthrough of like-minded Free Voters (FW).

"We are very satisfied with the excellent result of the AfD list led by Katrin Ebner-Steiner. I expected a little more, but the presence of the FW in Bavaria, which has the same position as the AfD on many issues, has reduced our progress," Joerg Meuthen said.

Early returns show that the anti-migration AfD won 11 percent of the vote and will enter Bavaria's state parliament for the first time in its history, while Chancellor Angela Merkel's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), lost its absolute majority.

Meuthen regretted that mainstream parties - the CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD) - would never team up with the AfD, despite the 23 seats it is about to get.

"The CSU would do a huge mistake to rule Bavaria on the left with the Greens, whose programme is wrong on all points. This is what Merkel wants in Berlin, of course," he added.

Chancellor Merkel's partners in the Federal government, the CSU and the SPD, are projected to win 35.5 percent and 10 percent of the vote, which Meuthen called a "resounding defeat" for the Grand Coalition.