Poland Slams AfD Win Amid German Military Buildup — SkimNews
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- AfD won a record 43.8% in Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt election, more than doubling its 2021 result, while Chancellor Merz's CDU crashed to 17.2% — its worst-ever showing in the eastern state.
- Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Handelsblatt that AfD gains could turn Berlin's military buildup into a security risk for Europe, warning: "we remember all too well where a rearmed Germany in the hands of a far-right, pro-Russian party can lead."
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that "only idiots or traitors" in Poland could celebrate the AfD's triumph, striking a similarly stark historical tone.
- Germany spent $114 billion on its military last year — almost as much as France and Poland combined — and is planning nearly €12 billion in long-range weapons capable of striking targets hundreds or thousands of kilometers away to deter Russia.
- The AfD's Bundestag caucus has called for halting German weapons deliveries to Ukraine and rolling back sanctions on Russia as part of peace talks, a markedly softer line on Moscow than Berlin's current posture.
- Germany's mainstream parties continue to maintain an electoral "firewall" against governing with the AfD at the federal level, a safeguard the source traces back to the 1930s and Hitler's rise to power.
Why it matters: Poland, a frontline NATO state and major military spender, publicly framed Berlin's $114 billion military buildup as a potential security risk for Europe if the AfD reaches federal power. With the AfD pushing to end Ukraine arms deliveries and roll back Russia sanctions, Warsaw's alarm is concrete — not rhetorical.
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