ABC News: Top Stories
· collected 2026-09-06 · by GEIR MOULSON Associated Press, KERSTIN SOPKE Associated Press
Story summary
In a closely watched regional election, Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is poised to gain power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD is expected to secure at least 44% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago, according to exit polls. This would give the party a significant majority and potentially mark the first time a far-right party has held state-level power in Germany since World War II.
The AfD's rise to prominence is seen as a threat to mainstream parties, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is currently leading the state. The party's success is attributed to its promise to restrict immigration and restore ties with Russia, as well as its charismatic leader, Ulrich Siegmund.
A victory for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt would be a significant milestone for the party, which has been gaining momentum in recent years. It could also have broader implications for German politics, potentially leading to a shift towards a harder line on immigration and European integration.
Experts warn that an AfD government could lead to significant changes in areas such as education and foreign policy, including creating separate classrooms for refugees and promoting a patriotism agenda that focuses less on the country's Nazi past. The party has also been accused of adopting tactics inspired by President Trump, including casting doubt on the integrity of absentee voting.
The outcome of the election is still uncertain, but it is clear that the AfD's rise to power would be a historic event with significant implications for Germany and Europe.
Written for “Far-Right Party's Rise in Germany” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 41 other(s) covering the same event.
German far-right party set for regional election win but uncertain of governing
It could form the country’s first far-right state government since World War II.
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It → set → II
The far-right Alternative for Germany was projected to win a strong victory in a regional election Sunday, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether it would be able to fulfill its ambition of forming the country’s first far-right state government since World War II.
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it → project → II
The party of German's unpopular leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, was set for a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
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party → set → Anhalt
The anti-migration and Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany's candidate for governor said that “we have written history.”
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we → say → history
Ulrich Siegmund, 35, told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a signal that “things cannot carry on like this” and that it was “also a signal toward Berlin.”
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it → tell → Berlin
Of Germany’s unpopular leader, he said: “A very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz.
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campaigner → say → campaign
Alternative for Germany, or AfD, went into the vote seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern on its own.
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Alternative → go → own
That would overcome the so-called firewall of mainstream parties’ refusal to work with AfD, but it was unclear long after polls closed whether it would happen.
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it → overcome → AfD
A first state government would be the biggest prize in the anti-migration party’s 13-year history, at a time of widespread discontent with a national government that has yet to persuade voters that it can get the country’s sluggish economy moving.
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economy → have → voters
Whether or not AfD can form a government, the projected result is a blow to Merz, whose center-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years.
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party → form → years
Unlike other countries in Europe, modern Germany hasn't yet had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state or major-city government.
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Germany → have → government
AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany’s national parliament and is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt is located.
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Anhalt → locate → east
Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as a proven right-wing extremist group by the domestic intelligence agency, which points to members' denigration of migrants from Muslim countries among other things.
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which → classify → things
The party talks of “remigration,” a politically charged term for the deportation of immigrants.
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party → talk → immigrants
Its leader in a neighboring state appealed two convictions for knowingly using a Nazi slogan.
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leader → neighbor → slogan
AfD vehemently rejects accusations of extremism and says they're politically motivated.
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they → reject → extremism
Projections for ARD and ZDF public television, based on exit polls and partial counting, put AfD at a bit over 44% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin.
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Projections → base → Berlin
That was far ahead of Merz's Christian Democratic Union which was seen polling 18% and losing about half its support.
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which → see → support
The Left Party, the center-left Social Democrats and Greens were seen taking around 9% each.
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Party → see → %
It was unclear whether the BSW party would get the 5% of the vote needed to win seats.
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party → get → seats
The projections put AfD at least marginally short of an absolute majority, though that could change.
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that → put → majority
AfD's national co-leader, Alice Weidel, described the projected result as “sensational” and said that “we have received a very clear mandate to govern here.”
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we → describe → mandate
The party's “hand is outstretched to all who want to make Saxony-Anhalt better and move Germany forward,” she said.
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she → outstretche → Germany
A visibly disappointed incumbent governor, Sven Schulze, congratulated AfD on becoming the state's strongest political force and said that “we as the CDU will also have to deal with this result,” without specifying how.
Franziska Hoppermann, the national general-secretary of Merz's party, rejected the idea of backing off its refusal to deal with AfD.
“AfD is a right-wing extremist party.
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AfD → disappoint → AfD.
It wants to leave the euro; that would be economic downfall ...
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that → want → euro
it works closely together with Russia, it wants a completely different social model,” she said.
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she → work → model
“We will not work with them.”
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We → work → them
There already has been one case in which AfD won a state election but didn’t end up governing.
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AfD → win → election
That was two years ago in neighboring Thuringia, where a CDU governor took power with a minority government, but against a regional AfD that was well short of a majority.
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that → neighbor → majority
If the result allows Schulze to try to put together some kind of alliance with smaller parties, that would be delicate, because it would require at least some tacit support from the Left Party, a hard-left party with which the CDU refuses to form coalitions.
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CDU → allow → coalitions
Germany’s 16 states have extensive powers, for example in overseeing security matters and running the education system.
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states → have → system
Siegmund has listed among his top priorities “a deportation offensive” and dropping incentives for people to come to Germany and “exploit our social system.”
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people → list → system
He wants to initiate a long process to withdraw Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster, citing concerns about “disinformation.”
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He → want → disinformation
AfD in Saxony-Anhalt wants to allow home schooling, which so far isn’t permitted in Germany.
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which → want → Germany
It pledges to ban schools from officially raising the rainbow flag and ensure they fly the national flag.
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they → pledge → flag
It opposes taxpayers’ money being “given away” to Ukraine and says it would push to lift sanctions against Russia, but that isn’t a matter state governments can decide.
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governments → oppose → Russia
State governments also sit in Germany's upper house of parliament, which has to approve some government legislation.
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which → sit → legislation
The influence there of Saxony-Anhalt, one of the smaller states in a nation of 83.5 people, is limited — it controls four of the 69 votes.
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it → limit → votes
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Geir Moulson reported from Berlin.
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Moulson → report → Berlin
