🔴 Germany: Victory of far-right AfD in state election 'very worrying', says Polish FM
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By: FRANCE 24 Ulrich Siegmund speaks at an election party of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) after the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on September 6, 2026. © Matthias Schrader, AP The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Monday said it had started talks with “individual parliamentary groups or individual MPs” to form an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt's parliament following yesterday's election victory. Germany's domestic intelligence agency classifies the AfD as an extremist group, and other parties have previously refused to work with it. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the far-right AfD's election victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt had shaken his CDU party to its core and signalled that a major reckoning was needed, the Bild newspaper reported on Monday.
"This shakes our party to its very foundations. We cannot simply carry on as before, nor can I, nor can the federal government," Merz said, according to the newspaper.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the far-right AfD's election victory had shaken his CDU party to its core and signalled that a major reckoning was needed, the Bild newspaper reported on Monday.
"This shakes our party to its very foundations. We cannot simply carry on as before, nor can I, nor can the federal government," Merz said, according to the newspaper.
Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday warned an "extremist threat" was advancing throughout the world after Germany's far-right AfD secured a landmark landslide success in a state election.
Sunday's vote was a "warning that the extremist threat, largely thanks to the surrender of the traditional right, is gaining ground in Europe and in the world", Sanchez, one of Europe's few leftist leaders, told a Socialist party gathering in Madrid.
The AfD surged into first place in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, exit polls showed, putting a far-right party within reach of governing at the state level for the first time since World War II.
However, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Berlin, Nick Holdsworth, says it is “hard to say” if the victory is more the result of dissatisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s governing conservatives, or an explicit endorsement of the AfD.
The far-right Alternative for Germany will talk to individual parliamentary groups and lawmakers to see if they would support the party in governing the parliament in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund.
"We will, of course, hold discussions to see whether there are - and this is a crucial message today - individual parliamentary groups or individual MPs willing to join us in tackling this historic task," said Siegmund after the AfD notched a historic win in the state but fell short of an absolute majority.
The far-right Alternative for Germany is aiming to win at least 40 percent in the next federal election after a historic win in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said national co-leader Alice Weidel on Monday.
"My stated goal is to significantly widen the gap in a very short time and grow to at least 40% for the next federal election," said Weidel.
Germany's far-right AfD charged Monday that its state election triumph the previous day showed that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had become "a major burden" for the country.
"No chancellor before has been as unpopular as Friedrich Merz, who has become a major burden on Germany's prosperous development," said party co-leader Alice Weidel, after her party won Saxony-Anhalt state elections in a landslide. "The election in Saxony-Anhalt has shown that people expect a change in politics."
The far right marches to victory in a German state election. What does this mean for the future of Germany and Europe at large?
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The victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday is a disturbing signal, Poland's foreign minister said on Monday.
"It seems they're just a few votes short of an absolute majority, but this is indeed a very worrying sign," Radoslaw Sikorski told Radio Vox FM.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will huddle Monday with his CDU party to discuss and digest their thumping defeat at the hands of the far-right AfD party in a state election in the ex-communist east.
The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany scored its biggest win yet Sunday with 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, against about 18 percent for the centre-right CDU, according to broadcasters' projections.
The visibly dejected CDU state premier Sven Schulze said his campaign was not always helped by national government policies, saying that "we often faced headwinds, and that wasn't always easy".
The ballot box triumph put the pro-Trump and Moscow-friendly AfD – officially listed as "right-wing extremist" by Germany's domestic intelligence agency – within reach of running its first-ever state government.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Monday he was worried by the victory of far-right party Alternative for Germany in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday.
"I recently had the opportunity to speak with German business leaders who were extremely concerned," Lescure said in an interview with RTL radio station.
"This shows that we face a major challenge in the face of a populist wave which is spreading around the world today and which we must resist," he added, also saying that the result sent out a "very, very worrying signal."
Germany: Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, the ideologist behind the AFD’s plans in Saxony-Anhalt Analysis…
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