AfD Seeks Absolute Majority in Saxony-Anhalt Vote — SkimNews
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- Saxony-Anhalt voters headed to the polls Sunday for the state legislature, with AfD aiming for an absolute majority that would overcome mainstream parties' "firewall" refusal to work with the far-right and put it in power for the first time in post-WWII Germany.
- AfD's candidate Ulrich Siegmund declared "we will write history here" and said he would only seek the governorship if the party wins an outright majority — arguing AfD must break a pattern of rival parties breaking preelection promises.
- Incumbent Governor Sven Schulze (CDU) said he will not work with AfD and that his party is "100%" behind him; the CDU has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years and faces a delicate coalition-math problem if AfD finishes first but short of a majority.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned an AfD government would be "an economic own-goal," saying international investors would "think three times" about investing in Saxony-Anhalt if the party won an absolute majority.
- AfD's regional branch is classified by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as a proven right-wing extremist group; national co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla argued an absolute majority is "almost the only chance to change course" on migration and other issues.
- Two years ago in Thuringia, AfD finished first in a state election but did not govern — a CDU governor took power with a minority government — the exact precedent Siegmund's absolutist strategy is designed to break.
- Thousands protested in the state capital Magdeburg on Saturday against a far-right regional government, and two more state elections loom on Sept. 20 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin that could compound pressure on Merz's national coalition.
Why it matters: An AfD absolute majority would deliver Germany's first post-war far-right state government and a symbolic blow to Chancellor Merz's CDU, which has governed Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years. With state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin following on Sept. 20, the Saxony-Anhalt outcome will reshape the political terrain for Merz's national coalition heading into autumn.
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