Scholz’s Social Democrats edge out far right in German regional elections, exit polls show – POLITICO

WANDLITZ, Germany — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to have won a reprieve Sunday, with exit polls showing his party held off stiff competition from the far right to win a key regional election in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

According to exit polls by German public television, Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) came in first with 31 percent of the vote, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 30 percent. The center-right Christian Democrats took 12 percent of the vote.

A defeat in Brandenburg, which the SPD has controlled since German reunification, would have cast doubt on Scholz’s political future and increased pressure for early national elections after his party suffered crushing defeats in two previous regional elections this month.