Saxony-Anhalt: Germany wakes up to 'unsettling' AfD victory
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 45/100
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won the Saxony-Anhalt state election but without an absolute majority in parliament. Other European nations were wrestling with the impact of the results. Follow DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/5KRks AfD state leader Ulrich Siegmund has declared victory in the state vote Image: Ronny Hartmann/AFP Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know Far-right AfD hails 'sensational' results in the Saxony-Anhalt vote AfD expected to struggle with coalition building as many parties reject cooperation Left-wing populist BSW open to working with AfD on some issues Merz's CDU suffers worst Saxony-Anhalt result since German reunification The European press calling the results an "unsettling new page in German history" Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state held an election on Sunday, September 6. Follow all the developments on Monday, September 7, here.
09/07/2026 September 7, 2026 Neighboring France voices concern over rise of the AfD Speaking with RTL Radio on Monday morning, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the far-right AfD's resounding victory in German state elections, "sends a very, very worrying signal."
Lescure called the victory part of a "populist wave" that is "spreading around the world today," saying "we must resist" it.
Lescure's comments echoed those delivered by France's Minister of European Affairs Benjamin Haddad, who called the victory "a very grave moment for Europe."
For years, France has faced the prospect of a far-right government as Marine Le Pen 's ultraconservative National Rally (RN) party has come ever closer to gaining power in successive elections, a situation that will repeat itself during federal elections there next year.
It should be noted that RN ended cooperation with the AfD in the European Parliament for its revisionist view of Nazi Germany, it's ties with far-right extremists and allegations that it aided Chinese and Russian agents in Brussels.
09/07/2026 September 7, 2026 AfD leaders say migrants 'have nothing to fear as long as they contribute to making Germany a better place' Candidate Ulrich Siegmund said he would seek to become the state's premier during a Q&A session after Monday morning's press conference but noted that he would need a stable majority if he was to have a chance to turn the state around.
He also said those with immigration backgrounds need not fear the AfD, claiming that even anti-fascists had been convinced about his earnestness during discussions in which he engaged with protesters outside campaign rallies.
Party co-leader Alice Weidel said the AfD is not anti-immigrant per se and that it welcomes all foreigners willing to "contribute to making Germany a better place" before railing against unqualified immigrants receiving German taxpayer funds as welfare.
Neither Siegmund nor Weidel provided evidence or data to back up their claims.
She also emphasized what she called the fears of women, children and others in the face of "criminal immigrants" and called for far tighter borders, pointing out that Germany's major parties had lost touch with reality in opening them.
This came despite the fact that crime statistics show that immigrants make up only a small minority of criminal suspects, with age and gender being a much more decisive factor.
Moments after saying the party was not against immigrants, Weidel then doubled down on the party's promise to deport as many immigrants as possible as soon as it took power, saying Germany could not afford what she called an "open-border policy."
Germany has increased border controls and security in recent months and net migration and asylum applications have already dropped significantly over the past two years.
09/07/2026 September 7, 2026 AfD calls for political cooperation, ultimately federal leadership at press conference In their first press conference since yesterday's Saxony-Anhalt state elections, Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, alongside top state candidate Ulrich Siegmund, called the Sunday result "historic" and suggested other parties reconsider the "failed concept" of the so-called "firewall" to honor voters' wishes and help the AfD run the state.
Weidel started off by thanking voters who came out to show support for the party despite "negative press coverage" — the charge of "fake news" and "unfair media coverage" was a through-line for all three party representatives during the press conference.
Weidel praised historically high voter turnout before slamming existing political parties, specifically Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for whom she has a particular animosity, and running through a laundry list of issues that motivated AfD voters — immigration, immigrant crime, high prices, energy policy and de-industrialization being foremost among them.
Weidel then went on to declare that the country's two largest popular parties, the CDU and SPD, would "never win another election" because they had failed to find solutions to those problems.
Co-leader Tino Chrupalla praised candidate Ulrich Siegmund before also slamming Merz — whom he called "arrogant" for dismissing the AfD as a laboratory for political malcontents — while looking forward to coming elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and criticizing German support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
After claiming the so-called political "firewall" had collapsed, Chrupalla said the AfD is prepared to hold talks with other political parties, including the CDU, which he said would "disappear" if it did not change course.
After thanking AfD leadership, candidate Siegmund joined in slamming the CDU, Chancellor Merz and the media. Siegmund claimed that tens of thousands of supporters had turned out for AfD rallies during the election campaign — though such numbers have been seen as being exaggerated.
Siegmund said Sunday's result had shown that hope had triumphed over "fake news" to deliver a clear mandate…
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