Germany’s “far-right” Alternative for Germany (AFD) party has secured a seismic victory in Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its vote share and leaving Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives facing one of their most humiliating regional defeats in decades.
The AfD won 43.8 per cent of the vote in the eastern German state, according to preliminary final results, securing 39 seats in the 83-member parliament — just three short of an outright majority.
The result represents a dramatic increase from the little more than 20 per cent of the vote the party won five years ago and marks a potentially significant turning point in German politics.
The AfD described the result as a “historic outcome” and argued that voters had given it a mandate to govern. Yet uncertainty remains over whether the party will be able to translate its electoral victory into power, with other mainstream parties historically refusing to cooperate with it.
No party described as far-right has led a German state government since the Second World War.
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s influential state leader, had previously declined to rule out either governing alone or seeking a partnership with another party. Following the result, he said the party was prepared to enter discussions.
“We extend a hand to all democratic forces that wish to pursue better policies,” he said.
But Mr Siegmund made clear that there would be limits to any compromise, warning that migration and domestic security would be “non-negotiable” in discussions with potential partners.
The prospect of an AfD-led administration would represent a historic breach in Germany’s long-standing political firewall against the hard right.
Control of the state government would hand the party significant influence over policing, education and cultural policy in Saxony-Anhalt, a state of around 2.1 million people.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classifies the AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt as “far-right extremist”, a designation rejected by Mr Siegmund and the party.
The election result is also a severe personal and political blow to Mr Merz. His Christian Democratic Union has governed Saxony-Anhalt for more than two decades but secured just 17.2 per cent of the vote, winning 15 seats and losing around half of its previous support.
The scale of the collapse left the CDU trailing the AfD by more than 26 percentage points.
None of the remaining parties reached double figures.
The Social Democrats won 9.3 per cent of the vote, followed by the Greens on 8.9 per cent and the Left Party on 8.6 per cent. Each secured eight seats in the state parliament.
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW, crossed the threshold for representation with 5.3 per cent of the vote, securing five seats.
BSW has previously criticised Germany’s political “firewall”, under which mainstream parties have refused to enter coalitions or governing arrangements with the AfD.
The election was fought against a backdrop of growing concern among German voters over immigration, economic stagnation and domestic security — issues that have helped drive support for the AfD across much of the country.
The party campaigns for tighter immigration controls, Germany’s withdrawal from the euro and closer relations with Russia, placing it sharply at odds with the political consensus that has dominated Berlin’s approach to Ukraine and European security.
Turnout reached a high of 77.8 per cent, underlining the intensity of voter engagement in an election whose consequences could extend well beyond Saxony-Anhalt.
For the AfD, the result strengthens its claim that it is no longer simply a protest movement but a serious contender for executive power.
For Mr Merz and Germany’s political establishment, however, the scale of the defeat raises uncomfortable questions about whether the strategy of isolating the AfD is containing its rise — or accelerating the very political revolt it was designed to prevent.
Leave a Comment