Far-right AfD eyes further electoral gains in key German state of Brandenburg

Ballot being seen as referendum on Olaf Scholz's government ahead of next autumn's general election

The far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party is hoping to come top in an election in the German state of Brandenburg on Sunday, three weeks after making historical gains in two other regions.

The AfD, which has been classified as rightwing extremist in several states by domestic intelligence agencies, is running almost neck and neck with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in the state, a belt of urban and rural communities that surrounds the capital, Berlin.