In the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved a resounding victory with 44% of the vote, marking the biggest far-right win in a state election since the Nazi period. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The result has sent shockwaves through Germany, as it is the largest far-right victory in a state election since the Nazi era. Voters in the former communist east, Saxony-Anhalt, gave a clear lead to the anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin AfD, though it fell short of an absolute majority. Der Spiegel magazine described the event as a "political earthquake" of magnitude 9.0.
The AfD came in nearly 27 points ahead of the co-ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This is a heavy blow to the ruling party's credibility. The AfD will have broad powers over education, culture, and domestic security in the state. Among other policies, it has promised to start a remigration and deportation offensive, ban rainbow flags in schools, and halt the construction of new wind farms.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told reporters in Berlin that the party is targeting a 40% result at the next federal election, scheduled for 2029. Currently, the party is polling in first place at 28%.
The AfD's lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, had repeatedly said before the vote that he would only stand for election as premier with a clear majority. However, without an absolute majority in the state parliament, the party would need partners to either join a coalition or "tolerate" a minority government. The remaining parties ruled out lending formal support to Siegmund. However, the BSW, a small "left-conservative" populist party that narrowly cleared the 5% hurdle, has hinted at tacit cooperation.
Prior to the election, some Christian Democrats in the state openly questioned the "firewall" policy. Siegmund indicated he would spend the coming days and weeks "with an outstretched hand", testing the hitherto resolute opposition to helping the AfD into power. If he fails to build a coalition, he suggested holding a new election, which would require a two-thirds majority in the state legislature.
The stunning outcome in Saxony-Anhalt has underscored doubts about the viability of the policy of mainstream parties to exclude the AfD from power. The only other time the AfD won in a state, in neighbouring Thuringia in 2024, its victory was less decisive, allowing the remaining parties to cobble together an ideologically awkward coalition. Given the AfD's margin of victory in Saxony-Anhalt, it is difficult to imagine how the humiliated CDU could form such a "Frankenstein" alliance this time. The state premier, Sven Schulze, acknowledged the party no longer had a mandate to try.
Sunday's election amounted to a stinging rebuke of Merz and his CDU. The stony-faced chancellor admitted he was "deeply shocked" by the result. Exit polls showed voters were furious about his broken promises to revive the economy and shore up fiscal discipline. Energy prices, stoked by inflation and the Iran war, have hit voters hard in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany's poorest state. Cost of living issues appeared to far outweigh immigration as a mobilising issue.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD), a junior partner in Merz's alliance, indicated on Monday it would be willing to water down planned changes to Germany's costly and creaking social welfare system. Merz insisted the measures to shore up the healthcare and pension systems were necessary and vowed to fight for them "in the interest of our children and grandchildren".
The next two state elections will take place on 20 September in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The obvious momentum for the AfD, as well as widespread dissatisfaction with Merz and his government, mean those polls are also fraught with risk for the federal coalition. The AfD currently has a narrow lead over the SPD in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.