AfD after election success in Saxony-Anhalt: election winner, extreme right, is looking for partners

Modern democracies are not abolished all at once, but rather through gradual erosion - a process of attrition of democratic institutions.

On Monday, AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund from Saxony-Anhalt believes he is a little closer to what he calls the “good old Germany” and is taking the next step. In a good mood, he sits next to party leader Alice Weidel, who, despite the brilliant election victory with 43.8 percent the evening before, seems to be in a bad mood painting apocalyptic decline scenarios for Germany and the world and in general ("Germany is bankrupt! France too!").

While Weidel spreads racism and fear and attacks the federal government with slogans such as “disastrous energy policy” and “rampant deindustrialization,” Siegmund grins sincerely and seemingly friendly in the direction of the capital city journalists gathered at the federal press conference on Monday morning.

When it's finally his turn, it's time to be friendly: Siegmund makes fun of the Spiegel cover ("The most dangerous man in Germany") and sows mistrust of critical media: "We made it thanks to you!" he says. The division between the party and parts of the media landscape “who want to tell us from somewhere else how we should live in Saxony-Anhalt” has never been so great.

He claims he wants to reach out to overcome the divide. He wants to break down “prejudices” built up due to “false reporting”. The outstretched hand then seems to want to give slaps in the face: Siegmund speaks of alleged “fake news” campaigns, misinformation and disinformation from the public broadcasters. He could also have said: Please no more critical reporting or research into neo-Nazi networks and right-wing extremist biographies in the AfD state association - as they were not only reflected in the mirror.

The attack on the free press is an important step in the authoritarian playbook for state restructuring: public broadcasting is considered an important factor why the Federal Republic of Germany developed into an enlightened and liberal democracy after the Second World War.

The extreme right-wing AfD is deliberately taking the ax here and, as the designated government party, wants to attack public broadcasting head-on - the termination of the media state contract is a non-negotiable condition for an AfD government for possible explorations with the BSW or the CDU, says Siegmund. The same applies to the ultra-radical AfD demands in energy policy, migration and internal security - in fact, compromises can only be made with the "fertilizer regulation" and "compulsory castration of cats", suggests Siegmund.

The AfD is only three state parliament seats short of an absolute majority, and there are already negotiations with possible shaky candidates, claims Siegmund, but remains extremely vague: "It's no secret that the first discussions are apparently already being held." However, he doesn't want to bend. This is probably why Siegmund “apparently perhaps already” said the word “new election” on the evening of the election. But the dissolution of the state parliament is also complicated: If a candidate for prime minister fails in the second round of voting, the state parliament can end the electoral period with a simple majority. Otherwise, the state parliament may only dissolve after 6 months and with a two-thirds majority.

Due to the sheer size of the extreme right-wing party, a state government is subject to the Kremlin's reservation: without the AfD or BSW there is no majority. And the BSW has already announced that it will hold the stirrups in the election of an AfD prime minister. The right-wing extremists are also hoping for the CDU. Officially, the AfD says it will “offer talks” to all parliamentary groups and MPs.

However, the extreme right-wing party clearly rejects the BSW proposal for a non-partisan prime minister - it would have to be an AfD prime minister; A minority government that tolerates the BSW is also out of the question: Siegmund doesn't want any “games that you can't rely on” – and wants a “stable majority”. He doesn't say exactly how high it should be. We hear from AfD circles that 45 MPs are considered a stable majority - i.e. 3 over the thirst. 42 state parliament seats are enough for a parliamentary majority, which could also be used to terminate the State Broadcasting Treaty. The state parliament is scheduled to be constituted in a month, i.e. on October 6th.

However, one could already experience during this election campaign how Siegmund envisions the press in the long term: Aggressive and right-wing radical YouTubers walked around Siegmund's many events, harassing, insulting and pushing critical press representatives. The day after the election, Siegmund also demonstratively praised “Activist Mann” alias Matthäus Westfal, a particularly shrill example of this genre. Westfal was not only present at the storming of the Reichstag building, but also took part in solidarity events for the notorious Holocaust denier Ursula Haverbeck.

Siegmund also offered a deep insight when asked why, according to the election program, only families consisting of “father, mother, child” offer the best conditions for child development and how that fits with party leader Weidel, who is known to live in her lesbian relationship with two children in Switzerland. Father, mother, child are of course the optimal case, answers Siegmund. But we also know that life can be different and that “for a child, before it grows up in a home, for example, you naturally support other ways of life.” Weidel sat next to him, petrified.