Why is far-right AfD dominating in northeast Germany?

Germany's snap elections, which took place just two weeks ago, saw the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), win its best-ever result.

In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD was the strongest party. In Pasewalk, it won 40.4% of the votes.

The quaint city, dotted with a mix of traditional houses and prefabricated flats constructed between World War II and German reunification, is some 90 minutes by train from downtown Berlin.

It's quiet and immaculately clean, with a lot of care put into community activities. The residents all know each other and are jovial and friendly.

Yet the mayor of Pasewalk, Danny Rodewald, tells Euronews that people in the region feel unheard at a federal level.

"As small municipalities in our region, we are underfunded. We need better financial support," he said.

Rodewald said recreational facilities are lacking in the city, which is home to around 10,000 residents, many of whom are over 60. While schools, healthcare facilities and hospitals are well developed, he says more investment, including into new housing, is needed.

"As a small regional centre, we need support in housing construction — not just social housing, but also regular, commercial housing development. Because I would like to attract city dwellers to move here to the countryside," he explained.

Rodewald is keen to stress that the city offers a decent quality of life and that while the AfD won twice the amount of votes at 35% than the second strongest party, the CDU at 17.7%, it doesn't mean that residents are unhappy with their lives.

The snap election at the end of February was for the federal government, which is separate from the state level.

Residents in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern told Euronews that they