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AfD's Ulrich Siegmund Brings Far-Right Party to Cusp of Power in Saxony-Anhalt
Confirmed
In Short: The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt, bringing the far-right party to the brink of governing the eastern German state.
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's leader in Saxony-Anhalt, declared the result a 'clear mandate to govern' after the party's historic victory, according to the BBC. The far-right party is now very close to taking power in the state.
Siegmund initiated discussions with other parties on Sunday night, potentially taking days or weeks to conclude. The AfD is reportedly talking to individuals within the CDU group, who are reportedly 'very, very unhappy with their own party,' according to Beatrix von Storch, the party's deputy parliamentary leader.
The victory marks a watershed moment, with no far-right party having controlled a German state since World War Two. The AfD's plans for Saxony-Anhalt, including segregating child refugees and deporting migrants, are highly controversial within Germany.
What's confirmed
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- Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was "deeply shocked" by the result, describing it as "seismic... not just in the country but also in my own political party and I take that very seriously".
- The state's defeated premier, the CDU's Sven Schulze, also said the mandate to govern Saxony-Anhalt "now lies with the AfD".
- Von Storch told the BBC the AfD was talking to individuals within the CDU group - the largest party in both the state's outgoing coalition and Germany's government - because they were "very, very unhappy with their own party".
- Commentators and political opponents called AfD's victory a watershed and break with the past.
- "This isn't just about Saxony-Anhalt," Siegmund told supporters overnight.
- Asked about those who had expressed fears over the far-right party gaining power in the state, deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch told the BBC that its supporters were afraid of "losing our economy, they are afraid of losing our inner security".
- His party, the conservative CDU, saw its share of the vote almost halved to 17.2% in the state's preliminary results.
- Saxony-Anhalt has a small population of 2.1 million and the AfD in the state is assessed by domestic intelligence as "right-wing extremist", a classification rejected by Siegmund, 35.