AfD Secures Landmark Victory in German State Election

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was projected to secure a commanding victory in a regional election on Sunday, marking a significant blow to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union.

Chancellor Merz’s party was anticipated to face a disastrous outcome in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD had aimed to form the country’s first far-right state government since the end of World War II in 1945, though it remained unclear immediately after the polls closed whether it could achieve this ambition.

Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s anti-migration candidate for governor, declared that “we have written history.” The party’s push to break Germany’s political “firewall” against far-right extremism culminated in this historic state election.

Top candidate Ulrich Siegmund flashes a thumbs-up beside party leaders Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel at an AfD election celebration following the Saxony-Anhalt state elections. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Siegmund, 35, told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a clear message that “things cannot carry on like this,” adding that it was “also a signal toward Berlin.” He remarked that “a very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz,” stating that every day the chancellor spends in the chancellery is one day too many.

The election results reflect widespread public discontent with the national government, which has yet to convince many voters that it can restore the country’s sluggish economy to health. AfD sought an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern independently and overcome the so-called firewall of mainstream parties’ refusal to collaborate with it.

“AfD is a right-wing extremist party. It wants to leave the euro; that would be economic downfall … it works closely together with Russia, it wants a completely different social model,” said Franziska Hoppermann, the national general-secretary of Merz’s party. “We will not work with them.”

Achieving its first state government would represent the biggest victory in the anti-migration party’s 13-year history. Regardless of whether AfD forms its own government, the projected result delivers a severe blow to Merz, whose center-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years. Unlike several other European countries, modern Germany has not had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state, or major-city government.

After the Saxony-Anhalt state election projections were released, members of various coalitions protested against the AfD on the Römer, holding a sign that read “Anti-social, fascist, stupid!!!” (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

The AfD is the largest opposition party in Germany’s national parliament and draws its strongest support from the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt is located. Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist group by the domestic intelligence agency, which cites members’ disparagement of migrants from Muslim countries among other factors.

The party promotes “remigration,” which advocates for the deportation of immigrants. Siegmund has stated that his top priorities include launching “a deportation offensive” and ending incentives for people to come to Germany and “exploit our social system.” He also wants to initiate a process to pull Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster over allegations of “disinformation.”

Germany’s 16 states possess extensive powers, including overseeing security matters and running the education system. An AfD leader in a neighboring state has appealed two convictions for knowingly using a Nazi slogan, though the party continues to push back on accusations of extremism as politically motivated.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Saxony-Anhalt State Governor and top candidate Sven Schulze give a press statement after visiting UPM Biochemicals in Leuna, Germany. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Projections from ARD and ZDF public television, based on exit polls and partial counting, placed AfD at just over 44% of the vote—more than double its showing five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin.

Merz’s Christian Democratic Union was significantly behind, polling at 18% and losing about half its support. The Left Party, the center-left Social Democrats, and the Greens were seen polling around 9% each.

It remained unclear whether the BSW party would reach the 5% threshold required to win seats. The projections put AfD at least marginally short of an absolute majority for the time being, but that could change.

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