Elections in Germany Could Produce First Far-Right State Government Since Nazi Era: What to Know
New York Times · LC · trust 53/100
Elections in Saxony-Anhalt, in the country’s east, could result in an outright majority for the Alternative for Germany party.
Listen · 5:52 min Share full article An AfD campaign rally in Naumburg, a city in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, in August. The party has appealed to voters with promises to revitalize a sagging economy and deport immigrants. Credit... Annegret Hilse/Reuters By Jim Tankersley
Polls suggest that the Alternative for Germany, a far-right party known by its German initials AfD, will comfortably finish first. The party has appealed to voters with promises to revitalize a sagging economy, deport immigrants and sideline mainstream parties that have long governed the state.
The crucial question is whether the AfD’s share of the vote will be enough to allow the party to govern without the help of rival parties, which say they will refuse to join any coalition with the far right.
The result will reverberate through the national Parliament in Berlin, where the AfD is the largest opposition group to the governing coalition of center-right and center-left parties . The outcome could also offer lessons about the strength of populist movements around the world.
Polls close at 6 p.m. in Germany (noon Eastern). Here’s what to know.
The state, a relatively small area in the former East Germany, to the west of Berlin, has about 2.1 million residents. Saxony-Anhalt has struggled since German reunification in 1990. The state lost more of its population than any other , and the unemployment rate is well above the national average, at roughly 8 percent. The current leader is Sven Schulze of the center-right Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The Alternative for Germany is a far-right populist party that formed in 2013. It was initially focused on opposing Germany’s adoption of the euro , the European single currency. The party has since ridden a wave of anger at immigration from the Middle East and exploited anxiety over economic stagnation to top national polls in Germany.
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