AfD Eyes Historic Win in German State Elections, Challenges Mainstream Parties

1:13 AM ETDeveloping

World Desk

In Short: The far-right AfD party is poised to win an absolute majority in upcoming state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, potentially becoming the first far-right party to govern at a state level since World War II.

In upcoming elections, the far-right AfD party is expected to secure a significant victory, challenging mainstream German politics.

The far-right AfD party is leading in polls for the upcoming state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, with a projected 40% of the vote, compared to 23% for the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU). AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund, previously a member of the CDU, predicts an absolute majority that would allow the party to bypass noncooperation policies set by mainstream parties.

According to reports, an absolute majority for AfD would enable the party to govern without the cooperation of other parties, a strategy they have already employed at the local level. AfD’s rise is attributed to concerns about Germany’s decline and the absence of a credible future, as highlighted by foreign-policy expert Benjamin Tallis.

The AfD’s federal program includes calls for an end to German weapons deliveries to Ukraine, removal of sanctions against Russia, and negotiations that would leave Ukraine outside both NATO and the EU. The party’s popularity is partly fueled by criticism of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is seen as deeply unpopular, and the party’s leader is named 'Germany’s most dangerous man' by Der Spiegel.

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AfD has led comfortably in the polls for months and has a chance at winning an absolute majority if several smaller parties fail to clear the 5 percent threshold to enter the German parliament.
“It was the others who erected the firewalls,” he told German tabloid Bild.
Recent surveys place AfD at 40 percent, ahead of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) at 23 percent.
The AfD could become the largest party by an 18-point margin, although the projection indicates that an outright parliamentary majority remains unlikely.
State elections do not determine foreign policy, and Ukraine was not among the principal concerns reported by AfD voters in 2024.
They called him a “war and beggar president,” questioned his legitimacy, and accused him of seeking German money for reconstruction.
In brief: The far-right AfD leads ahead of elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and has nearly doubled its support in Berlin.

Sources

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