AfD landslide in Saxony-Anhalt rattles German political establishment

Thorsten Frei, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, called the result a “turning point for the country” and said Germany’s conservatives must ask themselves why they are losing voters.

CDU Secretary General Franziska Hoppermann took a harder line, rejecting cooperation with either the AfD or the Left Party.

Saxony-Anhalt’s incumbent state premier, Sven Schulze of the CDU, was more restrained.

“Some say this is a dark day for Saxony-Anhalt. I say this is democracy,” he said of the result.

Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), described the Saxony-Anhalt vote as a “signal to Berlin,” saying the outcome should prompt the federal government to consider changes.

Green Party co-leader Felix Banaszak called the AfD’s surge “dramatic.”

Heidi Reichinnek, a Bundestag lawmaker from the Left Party, described the result as “catastrophic” and accused Merz’s government of creating fertile ground for the far right.

The CDU leadership’s refusal to cooperate with the Left complicates efforts to assemble a parliamentary majority that excludes the AfD, Politico noted.

The result is also increasing pressure on Merz, who had previously pledged to reduce support for the AfD. Instead, the far-right party’s popularity has risen significantly during his time as chancellor.

AfD celebrates ‘historic’ result

The AfD, meanwhile, is celebrating its victory.

Party co-leader Alice Weidel hailed the “historic result,” while fellow co-leader Tino Chrupalla said the AfD’s success had “cut the CDU in half.”

Chrupalla said the party would invite all other parties to coalition talks.

“We’ll see who responds,” he told public broadcaster ARD on Sept. 7.

Asked whether the AfD could push for another election if no viable governing majority emerged, Chrupalla said the party was “prepared for all scenarios.”

The far-right, Russia-friendly AfD won the state election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote, according to preliminary official results.

The party nevertheless fell short of an outright parliamentary majority.

The CDU finished a distant second with 17.2%, while the AfD secured 39 of the state parliament’s 83 seats — three short of the 42 needed to govern alone.

Merz described the election result as a “tectonic shift” in Germany’s party system and acknowledged that the CDU had suffered a “dramatic defeat.”