Far-Right AfD Party Poised to Seize Power in German State Election

8:21 PM ETDeveloping

World Desk

In Short: In a historic shift, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is set to win an outright majority in Saxony-Anhalt, challenging Germany’s post-war political order.

A political earthquake is brewing in Germany's east as working-class and young voters appear set to deliver an unprecedented victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sunday’s state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, according to reports.

Other minor parties have led governing coalitions in German states, but no party outside the SPD or the CDU and the CSU has ever held a single-party governing majority in Germany since the Federal Republic was re-established in 1949.

According to the independent, non-partisan German website Wahlrecht.de, which tracks federal and state election polling, ahead of Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD holds a 41%-23% lead over the CDU, followed by three leftist parties.

The AfD, considered one of the most extreme far-right parties in Europe, has surged so far ahead in opinion polls that it could emerge as the dominant political force in Saxony-Anhalt and potentially lead a German state government for the first time, either with an absolute majority or with a junior coalition partner.

Set us as preferred BERLIN — Leaders of an extremist, far-right party in Germany have quietly borrowed pages from President Trump’s playbook to cast doubt on the integrity of absentee voting — alleging without evidence that residents of nursing homes have had their ballots manipulated and calling for an end to postal voting.

Trumpism and the MAGA movement have undoubtedly been an inspiration and model for many European radical right parties, according to political scientists. The AfD leader, Tino Chrupalla, has surprised Germans with warnings of voter fraud in the Sunday election in Saxony-Anhalt state.

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I think this is a much more important symbol than just saying, OK, (the) AfD will change this or that in its local school system or university system." Schatz described the AfD "a nationalist, anti-immigration party on the far right that has become a powerful vehicle for voter anger at Germany’s political establishment — especially in the former East Germany.
If they don't leave voluntarily, then they must be deported by force." Adding that many of the 1.3 million Syrians in Germany are being naturalized, "we must stop naturalizing these people who should actually be leaving our country.
That comes down to Germany’s unique election system.
Trump himself has voted by mail in recent elections.
“Sowing distrust in political institutions is part of the strategy of right-wing populist parties,” said Marcel Lewandowsky, a political scientist at Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany.
“Some components of Trumpism can be shared and exported, such as hostility towards migration and ‘wokeism,’ but it is very clear that national interests that the far-right champion cannot be defended the same way as the American national interests,” said Giovanni Orsina, head of the political science department at LUISS University in Rome.
The attack on mail ballots comes as Germany approaches a potentially historic state election that could shatter one of the taboos of its postwar political order by opening the door to a far-right government.

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