State election | Right dam breach in Saxony-Anhalt

Sven Schulze, Prime Minister of the State of Saxony-Anhalt and State Chairman of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt. His party's result has halved compared to 2021. Photo: dpa/Jan Woitas The election result in Saxony-Anhalt reinforces the tremor that has been rumbling in German politics for a long time. A resounding victory for the AfD was foreseeable; now it could act as a catalyst for upcoming elections. The AfD triumphs with a permanent smiler at the top, who often displayed astonishing political inexperience and is often ridiculed as a fragrance salesman. But Ulrich Siegmund sold something else: the illusion of a nice, people-oriented party that actually wants to implement a strong nationalist program. The AfD would like to change the motto of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt – “Think modern” – to “Think German”. This contains the entire nationalist, resentful program that perfidiously addresses experiences of loss as well as fears of loss. This has had an impact deep into the ranks of previous non-voters.

If the AfD didn't quite get an absolute majority, you can perhaps be relieved for a moment. But 44 percent for this party, almost half of the votes cast, is shocking and has doubled since 2021. The situation is very similar in Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Even in a cosmopolitan metropolis like Berlin, the AfD now stands at almost 20 percent. The far-right party is currently managing to collect all the discontent that has accumulated since the upheavals in German unity and the long-term neglect of the East. Both of these hit Saxony-Anhalt even harder than other eastern German states. The fact that the AfD received more than 60 percent of the workers' vote speaks volumes. But that alone does not explain the success of the AfD. In the West, too, political and economic crises are driving masses of voters towards her.

Anyone who wants to live in an open, democratic society must not get used to this strength of right-wing extremists as a permanent condition. Not because of their political narrow-mindedness, not because of their xenophobia, not because of their nationalistic egoism and cultural narrow-mindedness. The question is whether and how the other parties will manage to counteract this together without pandering to the right-wing accusation of a unified party trying to prevent the AfD. This affects democracy as well as economic and social policy.

When looking for solutions, the CDU is likely to be the main problem. Because it has crashed brutally to an all-time low. Now disputes will break out there between those who would like to try a government alliance on this side of the AfD - if that is even mathematically up for debate - and those who want to shake hands with the AfD and will certainly gain momentum. It is not impossible that a few CDU MPs will side with the AfD and support a government led by it. This result is by no means a recommendation for a new state government led by the CDU; It is also hard to imagine that the election loser, Sven Schulze, will continue to serve as Prime Minister for a long time, even though the state constitution makes this possible in the event of a difficult government formation. However, there could be complicated, controversial debates within and between the parties about what a democratic alternative should look like.

The Left also needs to talk. It is possible that she received a similar number of votes as five years ago, but this still represents a percentage decline due to the sharp increase in voter turnout. The fact that it performed weaker than in many surveys may also be due to the campaign to elect the SPD and the Greens to the state parliament in order to prevent an absolute AfD majority. A number of potential left-wing voters have apparently taken this to heart. It is good for the democratic spectrum in the state parliament that the SPD and the Greens are there. For Die Linke, on the other hand, it is little consolation that it emerged from the deep valley during the BSW's founding at the beginning of 2025, when it was at three to four percent. Doubling the number of members since then is one thing. It is obviously something different and much more difficult to create a mass political effect from this, a radical criticism of the political situation, which nevertheless clearly distinguishes itself from right-wing populism.

If the BSW has made it into the new state parliament, then it is mainly thanks to its right-wing stance. The Wagenknecht party has served the AfD in a unique way; Just with the constant talk about the so-called cartel parties and at least interpretable statements about supporting an AfD prime minister, she has put herself in the AfD's dinghy and allowed herself to be pulled along by its pull.

The federal government will also not remain unimpressed by this election Sunday. The federal parties CDU and SPD cannot actually afford to continue like this, especially since five state elections will take place in western Germany next year, including in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, which are important economically and for the Federal Council. It is quite possible that after the elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in two weeks, personnel changes will be attempted at the federal level, especially since the leaders of the CDU and SPD are anything but politically popular. However, this black-red federal government will probably stick to the course of massive rearmament and brutal social cuts - no matter who is at the top.

However, if the parties that see this election result as a catastrophe want to learn something from it, then perhaps it is this: everything that has so far contributed to channeling anger and discontent towards the AfD must be examined. No one can close their eyes to the tectonic shifts to the right anymore. Anyone who is serious about democracy must not just talk about firewalls, but must actually practice democracy and anti-fascism - in all political areas, from the municipality to the EU, from the left to the bourgeois.

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