In September, state elections will be held in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. Germany's position on the Russian war in Ukraine and its supply of weapons to Kyiv, as well as the question of strengthening the Bundeswehr and the stationing of new US weapons in Germany feature big in election campaigning.

Foreign policy has become a key issue in the regional elections, even though it is the responsibility of the federal government. The reason why state politicians are suddenly taking a stance on issues of foreign policy is the widespread skepticism among the population, especially in eastern Germany, about the position of the federal government of center-left Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Greens, and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) on Ukraine.

Since Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, Germany has supported Ukraine with around €23 billion ($25 billion) in weapons, direct cash payments, and humanitarian aid. Only the US has provided Ukraine with more support.

The Forsa polling institute recently found that 34% of respondents in eastern Germany believe that Germany is doing too much to support Ukraine.

André Brodocz, a political scientist at the University of Erfurt, explains that federal political issues are being used to stir up emotions in election campaigning. "Even if nothing can really be done about the issue at the state level, it remains vital for the parties to just get voters to the polls," he said in an interview with public broadcaster MDR.

Issues that are highly emotional, such as war and peace, of course, offer a great opportunity for this, he said.

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