Could a Far-Right Party Take Power in a German State for the First Time in 80 Years? AfD Scores Landslide Victory in Former East German State Parliament Election

[Financial News] The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a landslide victory in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, securing 44% of the vote in the state parliament election. Germany now faces the possibility of having a far-right state government for the first time in more than 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
According to the Saxony-Anhalt state election commission on the 7th (local time), the AfD had secured 44.6% of the vote with 95% of ballots counted in the election held on the 6th. It confirmed its position as the largest party, ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which received 16.9%. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) had 9.1%, the Greens 8.9%, and the Left Party 8.4%.
The election showed that the collapse of the political center in Germany has made governing the country extremely difficult. It also threatens to seriously undermine Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s control over his party as his approval ratings continue to fall.
The AfD failed to secure a majority and therefore cannot form a government on its own. However, it could still take power by forming a coalition with smaller parties. The far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which has expressed a willingness to work with the AfD, has emerged as a potential kingmaker.
BSW’s vote share currently stands at 5.2%. If BSW surpasses the 5.0% threshold required to win seats in the state parliament, its combined seat total with the AfD could exceed half of the legislature, allowing them to form a coalition. BSW, a successor of sorts to the former East German communist party, shares the AfD’s positions on tougher immigration policies and a conciliatory approach toward Russia. It is also opposed to the “firewall” principle upheld by the CDU and other parties, which refuse to cooperate with far-right parties.
AfD co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla signaled their desire to form a coalition, saying they were open to coalition negotiations.\u00a0
The Financial Times also predicted that the “firewall” strategy of Germany’s mainstream political parties, which have refused to cooperate with the AfD because they regard it as a threat to democracy, has been put to the test as voters seeking conservative politics turn to the AfD—and could perhaps collapse completely.

The AfD’s vote share was more than double its 20.8% result in the previous Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election in 2021. It was the party’s highest vote share since its founding in any state parliament or federal election. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s candidate for Saxony-Anhalt premier, declared, “We made history,” and emphasized that it was “a signal to Berlin.”
The AfD pledged to deport illegal immigrants, require asylum seekers to work, reduce support for Ukrainian refugees, strengthen patriotic education—including the display of the German flag—and cut funding for public broadcasters. It is also campaigning to end what it calls Germany’s “guilt complex,” tapping into resentment over the wealth gap and opposition to the broader social emphasis on remembering the country’s past wrongdoing.\u00a0
At 35, Siegmund has emerged as a key AfD figure after leading the party’s surge in the election. The AfD is also leading nationwide in support. A former CDU member, he is regarded as having won over younger voters through social media and older voters with his relatively neat and approachable appearance.\u00a0
With a population of 2.12 million and 1.69 million eligible voters, Saxony-Anhalt is the sixth-smallest of Germany’s 16 states by population. The AfD has built its base in former East German regions such as Saxony-Anhalt, which lag economically behind West Germany and have relatively small immigrant populations. Since its founding in 2013, the AfD has produced several mayors of small municipalities, but it has never taken power in a state government.
The turnout was provisionally recorded at 74.5%, the highest for a Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election since German reunification. Turnout was 60.3% in the 2021 state parliament election. A state parliament election is scheduled for the 20th of this month in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a former East German state where the AfD enjoys support of close to 40%.

[email protected] International Affairs Specialist Lee Seok-woo Reporter