AfD could take power in Saxony-Anhalt as support tops 40 percent

Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state holds elections on Sunday, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, polling above 40 percent, ERR reported. The result could allow the party to enter power in a German state for the first time since World War II, shaking up politics in Germany and the federal government in Berlin.

Recent polls put AfD support in Saxony-Anhalt at more than 40 percent despite its official designation as extremist by state authorities. The Christian Democrats follow with slightly more than 20 percent, about half the AfD’s support.

Michael Böcher, a political science professor at the University of Magdeburg in the state capital, said the AfD was highly popular in Saxony-Anhalt because it had one clear selling point: migration, which it links to some of the state’s objective problems.

“We have a difficult economic situation, demographic problems, and some residents are dissatisfied with the current government. The AfD offers them a way to show that they do not support the government,” Böcher said.

The party’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has also become a factor. The former perfume seller has won support by travelling around on an old East German moped, earning him the title of “Germany’s most dangerous man” from Spiegel magazine.

Böcher described Siegmund as a model populist who was young and intelligent and knew how to sell his messages, but avoided offering concrete political solutions or discussing which policies would be right for Saxony-Anhalt.

“He really reaches people,” Böcher said. Siegmund connects his campaign to something popular in eastern Germany, such as riding old motorcycles with potential voters. This makes his supporters feel that he is one of them, Böcher added.

The AfD’s election programme promises a return to what it presents as better times. It calls for a tougher migration policy, including deportations from the outset; voluntary citizen patrols to maintain public order; an end to climate policy; the cancellation of sanctions against Russia; Russian-language teaching in schools; and changes in education and culture. The state government, however, has authority over only some of these issues.

The result is expected to be a serious blow to the Christian Democrats, who are in power nationally, and to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The party may fail to enter government in Saxony-Anhalt or could face a choice between working with the AfD and cooperating with the far-left.