Far-right AfD’s vote triples in elections in German bellwether state

Party takes 16.5% of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia, behind governing CDU and Social Democrats

Germany's far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has more than tripled its support in local elections in the country's most populous state, a poll seen as Friedrich Merz's first significant electoral test since he took office as chancellor four months ago.

According to exit poll results from North Rhine-Westphalia, Merz's Christian Democrats won with 34% - about the equivalent of its historically worst result in the same poll in 2020 - while the AfD secured 16.5%.