Populist party Alternative for Germany looks set to win a key German election just days after Sir Keir Starmer backed Olaf Scholz to fend off the threat

The AFD will receive 33.5 per cent of the votes in Thuringia, an exit poll has suggested.

Such a result would put the Eurosceptic party nine-points ahead of the centre-right CDU, with left-wing Linke slipping from 31 per cent to just 11.5 per cent.

A ZDF exit poll in Saxony could also spark concern for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Populist right poised to win key German election in hammer blow to Olaf ScholzGETTY

The projected result puts the AFD a whisker behind the CDU, with the populist party obtaining 31.5 per cent of the votes.

The CDU, known as the party which was led by ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, is narrowly ahead on 32 per cent.

AFD support in both Saxony and Thuringia comes as Scholz SDP slip into single-digits.

Saxony witnessed a rapid rise in AFD support, having received 27.5 per cent of the vote after previously struggling to break into the teens in 2019.

The AFD experienced a similar political climb in Thuringia, emerging in 2014 before building ahead of the 2024 state election.