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BREAKING
Abu Zaid: I believe that the Iranian operation was multi-layered, combining cyber and electronic attacks with coordinated on-the-ground infiltrations by agents
Abu Zaid: Usually, archives of such sensitivity are typically protected by a full-scale security system, but it appears that Iranian intelligence managed to make use of a gap in it
Strategic military expert Nidal Abu Zaid: Iran has stripped "Israel" of the superiority and deterrence long boasted by its security minister, chief of staff, and other top officials
Fallahpour: Iran may use these documents in its battle with the United States and Western countries over its nuclear program
Fallahpour: Iran may have obtained additional documents related to "Israel's" regional projects, not just its nuclear program
Fallahpour: The coming weeks will be full of surprises, as Iran has forced Israeli intelligence agencies into a state of psychological exhaustion
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Tehran, Siavash Fallahpour: Iran has redefined the concept of deterrence, shifting it away from traditional military balance toward a new strategic framework
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Number of documents so great that merely studying them, along with accompanying images and footage will require a great deal of time.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Large data trove was confirmed to have arrived to "safe sites".
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Operation had taken place in past, but large size of documents and need to transfer entire batch inside Iran necessitated secrecy.

Germany’s AfD party wins historic victory in local elections

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 26 Jun 2023 13:00
3 Min Read

Alternative for Germany candidate Robert Sesselmann makes landmark win in Sonnenberg, Thuringia, making it the first district to be the first to be run by the AfD party.

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  • Robert Sesselmann of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sonneberg, eastern Germany, June 25, 2023. (AFP)
    Robert Sesselmann of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sonneberg, eastern Germany, June 25, 2023 (AFP)

In Sonneberg, Thuringia, Robert Sesselmann made the central state the first to be run by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after he came on top in a runoff vote for district administrator.

Located near the border of Bavaria, the district became a landmark according to AfD co-chief Alice Weidel who wrote on Twitter that "Robert Sesselmann has made history."

Sesselmann managed to acquire 52.8% of the votes, reported the electoral office, despite the continued appeals to voters, by mainstream parties, to reaffirm their support for CDU incumbent candidate Joergen Koepper.

#Sonneberg hat sein blaues Wunder erlebt: Robert #Sesselmann ist der erste #AfD-Landrat Deutschlands. Wir gratulieren herzlich und bedanken uns bei allen Unterstützern und Wählern - sie alle haben heute Geschichte geschrieben! pic.twitter.com/ue5j5gf6u1

— AfD (@AfD) June 25, 2023

The win came at a time when recent polls indicated that support for the AfD has reached a record of 18 to 20%, matching the support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats and lagging behind the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, only.

In Thuringia, Brandenburg, and Saxony, the former communist states of East Germany, the AfD has been faring even better. These states will hold regional elections next year, and the AfD intends to make significant gains there.

The Interior Minister of Georg Maier, affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, considered the outcome of the most recent election in Sonneberg "an alarm bell for all democratic forces," as reported by German news outlet Bild.

Poll shows increased support for Germany's AfD

Earlier, at the end of May, a poll published by the Bild revealed that support for the AfD party has increased its popular base to a five-year high amid growing distrust towards the Greens. 

The survey, conducted by INSA from May 22-26, showed that AfD earned 1% to poll at 18%, whilst the Greens lost 1% to 13% - their lowest rate in five years. 

The poll also revealed that the number of respondents who said they would never vote for AfD decreased from 60% in December to 53.9% in May. 

"The number of eligible voters who are categorically opposed to AfD has decreased markedly. The social climate has changed in AfD’s favor," Insa head Hermann Binkert said.  

The Green party in Germany is one of three making up the coalition of Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.

Since Germany's economy minister Robert Habeck, who also happens to be a Green party delegate, has been accused of cronyism, the party has faced serious challenges to its reputation.

Other relevant results from the poll revealed that the opposition conservative bloc, the CDU/CSU, scored with 28% of eligible voters' support, followed by Social Democrats with 20% and 9% for the Free Democrats.

Read more: German economy unlikely to improve in the short-term: Experts

  • Sonnenberg
  • Germany
  • Robert Sesselmann
  • Alternative for Germany party (AfD)

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