AfD Tipped for Far-Right First in Saxony-Anhalt Vote — SkimNews
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- Saxony-Anhalt holds elections Sunday that could produce Germany's first far-right state government since the Nazi era, with polls suggesting the AfD will comfortably finish first in the 2.1-million-resident state.
- AfD formed in 2013 originally to oppose Germany's adoption of the euro, but has since ridden anger over Middle Eastern immigration and economic stagnation to top national polls in Germany.
- Saxony-Anhalt has lost more population than any other German state since reunification in 1990, with unemployment at roughly 8% — well above the national average.
- AfD's path to governing hinges on whether its vote share is enough to rule alone, because rival parties say they will refuse to join any coalition with the far right.
- Sven Schulze of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats currently leads the state; the result will reverberate in Berlin, where AfD is the largest opposition group to the governing center-right and center-left coalition.
- AfD has appealed to Saxony-Anhalt voters with promises to revitalize the sagging economy, deport immigrants, and sideline the mainstream parties that have long governed the state.
Why it matters: A Saxony-Anhalt win would make the AfD the first far-right party to lead a German state government since the Nazi era. With every rival party refusing coalition, the AfD needs an outright majority to govern — and current polls suggest it comfortably finishes first in the 2.1-million-resident state.
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