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Germany's far-right AfD won a historic 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt state elections — falling three seats short of an outright majority and demanding other parties open coalition talks, while Chancellor Merz called the result "seismic."

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**AfD** won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, taking 39 of 83 state parliament seats and falling three short of an outright majority — the strongest far-right result in a German state since World War Two

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Beatrix von Storch**, AfD's deputy parliamentary leader, told the BBC "democracy demands" rivals enter talks and warned of "severe chaos" or a new election if they refuse; she said the party is already talking to individual CDU members "very, very unhappy with their own party"

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Germany's far-right AfD says 'democracy demands' parties work with them after state election win — SkimNews

By BBC World · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-07

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AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, taking 39 of 83 state parliament seats and falling three short of an outright majority — the strongest far-right result in a German state since World War Two
Beatrix von Storch, AfD's deputy parliamentary leader, told the BBC "democracy demands" rivals enter talks and warned of "severe chaos" or a new election if they refuse; she said the party is already talking to individual CDU members "very, very unhappy with their own party"
Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the result "seismic" and said the CDU, whose vote share nearly halved to 17.2%, could not return to "business as usual," while defeated state premier Sven Schulze (CDU) acknowledged the mandate to govern now lies with the AfD
One path being floated: an informal deal with the left-wing populist BSW (set to win 5 seats, tough on immigration and pro-Russian gas) to tolerate an AfD minority government; AfD state leader Ulrich Siegmund said discussions began Sunday night
AfD in Saxony-Anhalt is classified as "right-wing extremist" by domestic intelligence, a designation Siegmund rejects; the party's plans include segregating child refugees into special classes and setting up a task-force to detain and deport migrants
Donald Trump posted the projected results on Truth Social, after which Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised a "historic win for the pragmatic AfD"; JD Vance had endorsed the party ahead of Germany's federal election last year
Merz warned that upcoming regional elections in Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania and Berlin could carry "increasing significance" — the AfD leads national opinion polls, ahead of both his conservatives and the Social Democrats

Why it matters: Merz's CDU hemorrhaged nearly half its vote share in a state it once governed, and the defeated premier publicly conceded the governing mandate now belongs to the AfD — the first time a mainstream German leader has effectively handed political legitimacy to a far-right party classified as extremist by domestic intelligence, with coalition talks now actively underway.