AfD Eyes Historic Saxony-Anhalt State Win — SkimNews
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- AfD leads Saxony-Anhalt polls at 40%, well ahead of the CDU at 23%, with a chance at an absolute majority if smaller parties fail to clear the 5% parliamentary threshold
- Saxony-Anhalt could produce the first far-right state government in Germany since WWII, though a CDU-led administration under incumbent state premier Sven Schulze remains the most likely outcome if AfD falls short
- Ulrich Siegmund, AfD's lead candidate and a former CDU member, predicted gaining an absolute majority and a path to national power in the 2029 federal elections; Der Spiegel named him "Germany's most dangerous man"
- AfD state leader Martin Reichardt previously told the party's youth organization that Germany had become "a lazy, anti-social bum reeking of dope"
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose CDU trails AfD by 17 points, urged other politicians at a Lower Saxony rally to engage with the far-right party more effectively rather than rely on the noncooperation firewall
- Between 15,000 and 20,000 demonstrators gathered for a pro-democracy festival in Saxony-Anhalt the night before the vote; initial results are expected at 16:00 GMT Sunday
Why it matters: An AfD absolute majority would let the party bypass Germany's mainstream 'firewall' noncooperation policy entirely — Siegmund already framed Sunday's vote as a stepping stone to national power in 2029. Merz's public call for engagement signals the CDU is preparing for a post-firewall Germany whether Saxony-Anhalt delivers this Sunday or not.
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