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The regional elections in Hamburg are usually not important for national politics, but http://harrellfopg.centerblog.net this time the performance of the two smallest parties is expected to have an impact on national politics, analysts said. "The AfD had to show that it's capable of attracting voters in the west and doesn't remain an eastern German protest party. The Hamburg election has been a big success for the AfD," said Oskar Niedermayer, a political-science professor http://richardsxrlg.hazblog.com at Berlin'sFree University. "The Free Democrats are struggling to survive and they managed to set a clear signal Sunday that they are still an option." Last year, the populist AfD upstart party gained representation in three eastern German state parliament elections, winning around 10% of the votes in Brandenburg, sites Saxony and Thuringia. The party was founded in 2013 on a platform that opposes euro-zone bailouts and accuses Ms. Merkel of providing too much help for debt-ridden European countries. But over the past months, the AfD has focused more on anti-immigration and crime issues.
More: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/germanys-afd-party-advances-in-state-polls-20150215-00027