AfD surges in Saxony-Anhalt election as CDU trails ahead of coalition talks

Germany’s far-right AfD won a landslide victory in a key regional election Sunday in the ex-communist east, taking at least 44 per cent of the vote according to exit polls by two public broadcasters. “We have made history today,” said a jubilant Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old lead candidate of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt state. It was, however, too early to tell whether the AfD will have enough votes for an absolute majority that would allow it to govern a state alone for the first time. The centre-right CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz came a distant second, winning around 18.5pc, according to exit polls by broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Depending on the eventual count, the CDU’s state premier Sven Schulze would hope to still be able to form a new multi-party coalition to block the AfD from power. All major parties have so far maintained a “firewall” of non-cooperation with the Moscow-friendly AfD, whose state branch is categorised as “right-wing extremist” by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. A first-ever AfD state government would be a shock for many in Germany, which has been at pains to atone for its dark history of World War II and the Holocaust and so far kept extremist parties at bay. The spectre of a far-right state government drew thousands of the AfD’s opponents to a rally on Saturday in Magdeburg, the regional capital, with banners saying “life is better without Nazis”. “I’m very worried,” demonstrator Laura Saalfeld told AFP. “Whatever the results, the atmosphere will change. Far-right sympathisers will show themselves more openly on the streets.” Smiling face, radical agenda Siegmund, the AfD’s telegenic top candidate, has ambitions to lead a political revolution from Saxony-Anhalt that would propel the party to national victory in 2029. On the campaign trail, Siegmund — a former entrepreneur with a sharp undercut hairstyle and a huge social media following — has been mobbed by adoring fans, many wearing T-shirts bearing his likeness. The party has tapped into a sense of nostalgia for communist East Germany as well as lingering resentment about an enduring wealth gap with the west decades after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. In line with the sometimes defiant sense of local “Ossie pride”, Siegmund has often ridden the iconic local Simson bike, including to the polling booth on Sunday in his hometown of Tangermünde. While Siegmund has been dubbed the friendly face of the AfD, his campaign promises have been radical, including targeting irregular migrants with a “remigration and deportation offensive” from day one. The party’s anti-“woke” agenda also includes vows to replace LGBTQ pride rainbow flags at public schools with the German standard, and to change history teaching to lessen the emphasis on the Third Reich. In order to replace migrant workers, the AfD wants to lure back German expatriates, while offering “baby bonuses” for families to reverse the shrinking of the population in the small state of 2.1 million people. The German Economic Institute has warned the AfD’s immigration policy would be “ruinous” for Saxony-Anhalt, which is highly reliant on foreign-born workers, especially in the health sector. Others have voiced fears that an AfD-run state security apparatus could leak sensitive information to Russia, which Moscow could use to destabilise Germany. The Kremlin “makes no secret of the fact that the AfD is the most important instrument for destabilising Germany for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”, Thuringia state interior minister Georg Maier told the Handelsblatt daily. The strong AfD win also heaps pressure on Merz, who has vowed to reboot a stagnant economy and restrict irregular immigration, but has seen his party beaten by the AfD in national surveys too. Political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder of Kassel University said that after an AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt, “Merz’s critics will become even more vocal, and calls for better leadership will become impossible to ignore”.

AfD Predicted To Win In Saxony-Anhalt As Merz Panics, Antifa Floods Streets Voters in Saxony-Anhalt head to the polls today in an election that could deliver Germany's most massive political shock in decades, with the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland on track to beat Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats. AfD is the only hope for Germany https://t.co/6ONn1LOipE — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2026 Final polling estimates put the AfD at 40% to 41%, nearly double the CDU's 23%. The party's lead candidate, 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund, has ruled out governing in a coalition, suggesting the AfD would need an outright majority to take power of its first German state government. 🚨 BREAKING: Germany's right-wing anti-mass migration AfD party backed by Elon Musk is poised for a HISTORIC VICTORY in the Saxony-Anhalt elections — with polling showing them over 40% support, a STUNNING LEAD of close to 20 points CDU at just over 20%, and other parties near… pic.twitter.com/HnYvxgKlQr — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 6, 2026 About 1.7 million people are set to vote today, with polls closing at 6 p.m. local time. AfD's rapid ascent comes as voters are furious over Germany's stagnant economy, deindustrialization, energy costs, and the Third World migrant invasion. The Polymarket bet on how many seats the AfD is expected to win today assigns a 74% probability to 38 to 41 seats, with 42 to 45 seats at 16%. Ahead of the historic election, thousands of far-left Antifa crazies took to the streets wearing all black and holding Antifa and LGBT flags. Others were seen carrying signs reading "FCK NZS" and "FCK AFD." EIL: Schwere Krawalle in Halle, Antifa-Demo eskaliert! 🚨 Am Vorabend der Landtagswahl hat die linksextreme Szene nach Halle mobilisiert. Die Demo versinkt in Gewalt, es werden Unmengen an Pyrotechnik gezündet und teils auf die Polizei geworfen. Straßenkampf mit Ansage. Und ein… pic.twitter.com/k2bwEQtZ8N — COMPACT-Magazin (@COMPACTMagazin) September 5, 2026 A reported 15,000 left-wing activists joined a so-called pro-democracy festival in the state capital, Magdeburg, on Saturday, organized by the "Saxony-Anhalt Open to the World" alliance. Yet the whole globalist cult in Germany has likely run its course. It has been nothing more than what some call a nation-killing experiment, pushing uncontrolled mass migration and deindustrialization policies that have sent Europe's largest economy into a tailspin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday threatened the AfD, saying, "We will not let these people, who trash Germany and everything we have achieved in recent years and decades," before adding, "We will not let these people talk our country into ruin!" 🚨🇩🇪 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is once again threatening to ban the AfD?! "We will not let these people — who trash Germany and everything we have achieved in recent years and decades." "We will not let these people talk our country into ruin!" pic.twitter.com/3iiyrwBRV2 — Mario ZNA (@MarioBojic) September 6, 2026 German politics coverage: Germany Braces For AfD Election Breakthrough In Saxony-Anhalt Germany's Anti-Immigration AfD Party Reaches Record Support Days Before Pivotal State Election "Citizens Want Political Turnaround": AfD Now Polls At 43% Across Eastern Germany Merz Warns Right-Wing Victory Will Hurt Germany, But Nomura Says Investors Aren't Buying It What Nomura analysts see over the next 18-month election cycle across Europe:  "Seeds Of Political Change": Nomura Sees Europe Lurching Right, And Markets Are Fine With It Yet what did Merz actually achieve? Destroying Germany's economy? That is something he certainly accomplished. Tyler Durden Sun, 09/06/2026 - 09:55