AfD surges in Saxony-Anhalt, threatening Germany's far-right firewall

Magdeburg,UPDATED: Sep 6, 2026 23:10 IST

The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, was projected to register a strong win in the regional election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, though it was not immediately clear whether the party would be able to achieve its aim of forming the country’s first far-right state government since World War II. The result, whether or not it leads to government formation, is a setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his centre-right Christian Democratic Union, which has led the state for 24 years.

Projections for ARD and ZDF public television, based on exit polls and early counting, put AfD at about 44 per cent of the vote in the state of 2.1 million people west of Berlin, more than double its showing five years ago. The CDU was seen at 18.5 per cent, losing about half its support, while the Left Party, the centre-left Social Democrats and the Greens were each projected at around 9 per cent. It was unclear whether the BSW party would cross the 5 per cent threshold needed to enter the state legislature, and projections showed AfD at least marginally short of an absolute majority, although that could still change.

AfD went into the vote seeking an absolute majority so it could govern alone and bypass the so-called firewall under which mainstream parties refuse to work with it. A first state government would mark the biggest prize in the anti-migration party’s 13-year history at a time of widespread discontent with the national government and its failure so far to convince voters that it can revive Germany’s sluggish economy.

Ulrich Siegmund, AfD’s 35-year-old candidate for governor of Saxony-Anhalt, called the result historic and said Merz had helped his campaign. He told ARD that “we have written history”. He said voters had sent a signal that “things cannot carry on like this” and added that it was “also a signal toward Berlin”. Referring to the chancellor, Siegmund said, “A very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz. Every day this man is in the chancellery is one too many.”

AfD national co-leader Alice Weidel described the projected result as “sensational” and said that “we have received a very clear mandate to govern here”. She added that the party’s “hand is outstretched to all who want to make Saxony-Anhalt better and move Germany forward”. A visibly disappointed incumbent governor, Sven Schulze, congratulated AfD on becoming the state’s strongest political force and said that “we as the CDU will also have to deal with this result”, without saying how. Franziska Hoppermann, the national general secretary of Merz’s party, called it “a very difficult result for us”, while she and others rejected any move to soften their refusal to work with AfD.

Modern Germany has not had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state or major-city government. AfD’s regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several that the domestic intelligence agency has classified as a proven right-wing extremist group, an accusation the party strongly rejects. Germany’s 16 states have extensive powers, including over security matters and the running of the education system.

Siegmund has said his top priorities include “the deportation of people who are illegal, a deportation offensive and above all dropping the incentives for why people come here and exploit our social system”. He also wants to begin a long process to withdraw Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster, citing concerns about “disinformation”. AfD in Saxony-Anhalt wants to allow home schooling, which is not currently permitted in Germany. The party also says schools should be barred from officially raising the rainbow flag and should instead fly the national flag. It opposes taxpayers’ money being “given away” to Ukraine and says it would push to lift sanctions against Russia, though those are not matters state governments can decide.

The projections pointed to a decisive AfD lead in Saxony-Anhalt, but left open the key question of whether the party will secure the numbers needed to govern on its own despite the refusal of other parties to work with it.

With PTI Inputs

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