Far-right AfD leads Social Democrats in German state ahead of election

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leads the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) by almost 10 points in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern four months before voters go to the polls in the north-eastern state, a poll found on Wednesday. 

The survey by polling institute Infratest dimap, commissioned by public broadcaster NDR, found the AfD on 36%, up by one percentage point since January. 

Lagging in second place are the SPD, the governing party in the state under Premier Manuela Schwesig, on 27%, a rise of two points from the last poll. 

The regional chapter of the party appears to be bucking the nationwide trend of a decline in support for the SPD, which is in coalition with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives at the national level. 

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, known for its Baltic coastline and picturesque lake district, is alongside Berlin the last of five German states holding elections this year.

The vote on September 20 is set to come two weeks after the election in nearby Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD could gain an unprecedented absolute majority after topping 40% in recent polls. 

The latest survey suggests the anti-immigrant party is unlikely to do so in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, meaning it would likely not form part of the next government in the state as all other mainstream parties refuse to work with the AfD. 

Schwesig's existing coalition with The Left - a successor to the party that governed communist East Germany - faces a battle to secure enough support for a majority, however, with the latter on 13% of the vote in the latest poll.