After Victory in German State, Far Right Needs Help to Take Power
New York Times · LC · trust 47/100
The Alternative for Germany, or AfD, does not have a straightforward path to governing Saxony-Anhalt, but a small populist party could clear the way.
Listen · 4:45 min Share full article Tino Chrupalla, left, and Alice Weidel, right, co-leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, with Ulrich Siegmund, center, the party’s leader in Saxony-Anhalt, in Berlin on Monday. Credit... Liesa Johannssen/Reuters By Christopher F. Schuetze
All eyes in Germany have now turned to that party, the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, which is known by its German initials BSW, ahead of negotiations to form a new state government that could take weeks or even months.
If the Alternative for Germany, known by its initials AfD, does find a way to power in Saxony-Anhalt, it would mark the first time since the end of the Nazi era in 1945 that a part of Germany is ruled by a far-right party, and it would spell the end to the country’s postwar political consensus to keep the extremist far-right out of government.
The BSW had ruled out supporting Ulrich Siegmund, the local leader of Alternative for Germany, as state governor. But it has not ruled out supporting his political party, which mainstream politicians have vowed not to work with.
“The firewall does not interest us and we will speak with all parties,” Thorsten Schulze, a BSW state leader, told German media on Sunday night, referring to the longstanding promise by other parties.
The state elections in Saxony-Anhalt gave AfD its biggest electoral success since its founding in 2013. Having won 43.8 percent of the vote, the AfD now has 39 seats in a state house with 83 seats, meaning they are three short of a full majority.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Read the original at New York Times →
Open in TruthVane →