AfD Wins Landslide in Saxony‑Anhalt, Threatening CDU & EU

The AfD’s historic performance in the Saxony‑Anhalt regional election has sent shock waves across Germany and Europe, intensifying pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and raising fresh concerns about the far‑right’s growing influence.

Issued on: 07/09/2026 – 08:36

3 min Reading time

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned that the AfD’s decisive victory in Sunday’s regional vote constitutes a deeply troubling signal for Europe. He noted that the party captured roughly 44 % of the ballot in the eastern German state—its strongest regional showing to date—while Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU attracted only about 18 %.

Lescure, speaking on RTL radio, said he had recently discussed the political climate with German business leaders who share his growing anxiety. “We are confronting a major populist wave that is spreading worldwide, and we must resist it,” he declared, describing the result as “a very, very worrying signal.”

The AfD’s triumph has placed the party just three seats short of an outright majority in the Magdeburg parliament, opening the possibility of its first regional government. The party’s state branch is officially classified as a right‑wing extremist organization by Germany’s domestic intelligence service.

Historic breakthrough in eastern Germany

According to projections, the AfD finished only three seats shy of the 42 needed for an absolute majority. Its lead candidate, 35‑year‑old Ulrich Siegmund, hailed the outcome as a historic moment and said voters had sent a clear message to the federal government in Berlin. He mocked Merz as “a very good campaigner” for the AfD, adding that every day the chancellor remains in office is “one day too many.”

AfD co‑leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla urged the state branch to pursue control of the regional government, framing the win as a potential template for the 2029 federal election. However, forming a government remains uncertain, as mainstream parties have maintained a political firewall against cooperating with the AfD.

The CDU, Social Democrats, Greens, and Die Linke together also fell short of a majority. The left‑populist BSW could become a kingmaker if it clears the five‑percent parliamentary threshold.

Siegmund signaled openness to “extending a hand to all forces that want to bring about a fundamental political shift with us.”

Pressure builds on Merz

For Merz, the result marks a severe setback amid already flagging approval ratings. He watched the returns from CDU headquarters on Sunday evening but did not address the public. Party colleagues are set to meet Monday to assess the defeat.

Sven Schulze, the CDU’s incumbent premier in Saxony‑Anhalt, acknowledged that the campaign was hampered by dissatisfaction with the federal government. “We often faced headwinds, and that wasn’t always easy,” he said.

Inside the CDU, calls for a strategic rethink regarding the AfD have intensified. Dennis Radtke, head of the party’s employee wing, called the vote a “watershed moment,” while Thorsten Frei, leader of the centre‑right parliamentary group, urged caution against overinterpreting a single regional election.

Political scientist Oliver Lembcke of Ruhr University Bochum described the outcome as more than a defeat for the CDU. “We are witnessing a tectonic shift in the party system,” he noted, arguing that the AfD is evolving from a protest movement into “a party with a realistic prospect of holding power” in parts of eastern Germany.

Founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party, the AfD has moved toward hardline stances on immigration and Islam. Merz has attempted to reposition the CDU toward more conservative policies, tightening irregular immigration rules and pledging to revive Germany’s sluggish economy.

(with newswires)

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