AfD gains expected in battle for political heart of Germany

Party whose leader is labelled a Nazi is on par with CDU going into Thuringia poll on Sunday

Right-wing populists are expected to make strong gains in the German state of Thuringia on Sunday, in further proof of Alternative fi1/4r Deutschland's growing strength. However, outrage sparked by Nazi slogans, death threats and the recent deadly attack on a synagogue may have dampened expectations of the party seizing control from the embattled left.

In what has been billed as a fight for the political heart of Germany, the anti-immigration, anti-establishment AfD, which made strong gains in the states of Saxony and Brandenburg last month, was expected to take around 23%, according to final polling, more than double its previous result of 10.6% in the east-central state.