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Germany’s snap elections, which took place just two weeks ago, showed the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), recording its best-ever result. In the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD emerged as the strongest party. In Pasewalk, it secured 40.4% of the votes.

The picturesque city, featuring a mix of traditional houses and prefabricated flats built between World War II and German reunification, is approximately 90 minutes away from downtown Berlin by train.

It is a quiet and immaculately clean city, with an emphasis on community activities. The residents all know each other and are friendly and cordial.

However, the mayor of Pasewalk, Danny Rodewald, informs Euronews that locals feel ignored at the federal level.

“As small municipalities in our region, we are underfunded. We require improved financial support,” he stated.

Rodewald expressed the need for more investment, including new housing, as the city, home to around 10,000 residents, many of whom are over 60, currently lacks recreational facilities.

“As a small regional center, we need support in housing construction— not just social housing, but also regular, commercial housing development. We want to attract city dwellers to move to the countryside,” he explained.

Rodewald emphasized that the city offers a decent quality of life despite the AfD winning twice the amount of votes at 35% compared to the second strongest party, the CDU, at 17.7%. However, this does not mean that residents are dissatisfied with their lives.

Federal vs Local Governments

The snap election in late February was for the federal government, separate from the state level.

Residents in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern expressed their desire to see an end to the war, questioning why taxpaying funds were used for arms in Ukraine when homeless Germans lacked support and food prices had increased. These decisions are made at the federal level.

“I believe there are quite a few citizens dissatisfied, but not necessarily with local politics. This was a federal election, and you cannot directly apply those results to Pasewalk,” Michael Ammon, a lawyer and chairperson of the local Social Democratic (SPD) association, told Euronews.

“Yes, there are certainly things that haven’t gone as they should have, and that’s why citizens have unfortunately turned away from the major parties,” he added.

Ammon urged the new government to prioritize boosting the economy when formed.

“That’s difficult since there are factors we cannot control. The war in Ukraine, for example, we cannot influence directly. Prices must come down, bureaucracy must be reduced, and hopefully, that will be achieved,” he explained.

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Ammon predicted that if the center-left SPD and center-right CDU, currently discussing coalition formation, manage to implement policies to solve Germany’s economic crisis, “the AfD, with the rest of their policies, won’t really appeal to the voters who supported them this time.”

Cities vs Rural Areas

Record 75% of Groß Luckow voted for AfD, the highest in all of Germany. The village of 200 residents lies 15 minutes away from Pasewalk and is isolated from amenities. Many villages in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern face such isolation.

Detlef, a farmer who plans to retire this year from the village, expressed satisfaction with the rise of the AfD.

“The AfD is doing well. But whether anything will come of it, something has to change. For years, we have only been deceived and cheated here. Promises, always more promises,” Detlef told Euronews while tending to his garden.

“But nothing is actually promised. Prices for all kinds of food have become too expensive.”

“The AfD here wants things to improve. They want foreigners out — people who don’t belong here. What are they doing here? They just take our money. They don’t want to work. They get apartments, everything is handed to them, while in the big cities, we have homeless people,” he added.

Detlef criticized previous CDU and SPD governments and hopes that AfD coming into power will bring positive changes.

The AfD has already removed its election posters in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, whereas other parties like the Greens, CDU, and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) have not.

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Enrico Komning, an AfD directly-elected member of parliament for Groß Luckow, highlighted in a written statement that a shortage of skilled workers, high taxes and energy costs, poor infrastructure, and bureaucracy are hindering the region.

“Structurally weak regions like eastern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania rely primarily on small and medium-sized businesses, often with just a few employees,” Komning stated, adding that the area’s economy is dependent on tourism along the coast, agriculture, and skilled trades.

He also blamed incomplete motorway construction linking cities and larger cities in the area, which are still not connected by high-speed trains, for the lack of economic development.

“It is inacceptable that in 2025, we still have to discuss dead spots in large parts of rural areas,” Komning emphasized.

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“In September 2026, there will be state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. There is a great opportunity for a change of policy,” he said.

The pressure is now on the new German government to boost the economy, particularly if they want to bring voters back to established parties.