Strong gains by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in European Parliament elections should provide momentum heading into German state elections in the autumn, the AfD's co-leader told dpa on Sunday.
Exit polls released earlier on Sunday put the AfD in second place with 16.1% to 16.4% of the vote. The AfD did particularly strongly in states that were part of the former communist East Germany.
Three states in the former East Germany - Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia - are set to hold state parliamentary elections in September. The AfD has drawn its deepest support in that region.
"I hear that we are now the strongest force in the East in this election - there can be no greater tailwind," Tino Chrupalla said with a view toward the upcoming elections.
"If the AfD comes second in a European election, then that is sensational for us," he added.
He also dismissed comments from centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz of the CDU/CSU bloc, who said on election night that the AfD had passed it peak.
"I would be very careful with such statements if I were Mr Merz," Chrupalla said.
