BERLIN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The parliament of the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt elected Economy Minister Sven Schulze on Wednesday to succeed outgoing premier Reiner Haseloff, who stepped down ahead of elections in September that could see the far-right AfD win control of the state.
Schulze, from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right Christian Union (CDU), was elected comfortably in the first round of voting, avoiding the need for run-off votes that could have embarrassed the coalition of the CDU, centre-left Social Democrats and the Free Democrats.
Haseloff, 71, had previously announced his intention to step down after 15 years in office to allow his successor time to prepare for the September election, which is expected to test the so-called "firewall" strategy of mainstream German parties that have vowed not to work with the AfD.
Saxony Anhalt, which has lagged many other German regions with a struggling economy and a range of social problems, including a declining population, has seen a surge in support for the AfD, which could win control of a state legislature for the first time in September.
According to an opinion poll published on Tuesday, the AfD stands well ahead of any of the other parties in Saxony-Anhalt with 39% support, followed by the CDU with 26%, the Left Party with 11% and the SPD with 8%.
The small hard-left BSW party, which shares some of the AfD's priorities including restricting immigration and opposition to German support for Ukraine, stood at 6% and may fall under the 5% threshold for entry to parliament, potentially helping the AfD further.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Jan Harvey)
