Story summary
Germany's far-right AfD party is poised to win a regional election in Saxony-Anhalt, which could make it the first far-right party to hold state power since World War II. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been gaining popularity in recent years, and its candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has been campaigning on a platform of restricting immigration, quitting the Euro, and restoring ties with Russia.
Polls indicate that the AfD is leading with around 44% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago. The party's popularity has been boosted by popular disillusionment with successive governments in Berlin and support from formerly communist states in the east. If the AfD wins, it would be a historic shift in German politics, as the party seeks to overcome the "firewall" of mainstream parties' refusal to work with them.
The election is seen as a key test for the far-right party's ability to form a government, and a win could have significant implications for Germany's politics. The AfD's platform includes proposals such as creating separate classrooms for refugees, normalizing relations with Russia through student exchange programs, and promoting a patriotism agenda that focuses less on the country's Nazi past.
The election is taking place in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where around 2.1 million people are eligible to vote. The outcome is seen as uncertain, but experts predict that the AfD will emerge as the dominant party in the region. A win for the AfD would be a significant blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU party, which currently leads the state.
The election has been closely watched by observers both within Germany and internationally, with many seeing it as a potential harbinger of far-right movements across Europe. The AfD's use of social media, particularly TikTok, has also been noted, with its candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, having amassed around 10 times the number of followers on the platform as there are eligible voters in Saxony-Anhalt.
The outcome of the election is still uncertain, but one thing is clear: a win for the far-right AfD party would be a significant turning point in German politics.
Written for “Germany's Far-Right Political Rise” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 50 other(s) covering the same event.
Far-right victory in German state expected to send shockwaves throughout the world
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a historic win in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday
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Alternative → expect → Sunday
On Sunday night, voters in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt overwhelmingly chose the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to run their government.
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voters → choose → government
It's a historic victory for a once-fringe populist party that's designated as right-wing extremist by local domestic intelligence agencies in numerous states, including in Saxony-Anhalt, and whose members have come under fire for using Nazi slogans.
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members → designate → slogans
Some experts say the win doesn't only signify a deep crisis of established politics in Germany — it sends a message to right-wing populists throughout the world, ahead of numerous regional and federal elections in the European Union, that the political tides are in their favour.
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tides → say → favour
"I'm feeling so excited, and I'm so proud of our team here in Saxony-Anhalt," Alice Weidel, the federal co-leader of the AfD, told CBC News at the election media centre in Magdeburg, the state's capital.
"
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Weidel → feel → Magdeburg
We have a huge responsibility.
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The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt promises to improve relations with Russia, ban Pride flags in schools and create separate classrooms for refugee children.
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AfD → promise → children
It calls for "remigration," a term often used in far-right circles to refer to mass deportations of people who come from a migration background.
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who → call → background
"No one who is honest and no one who is accepting our laws and no one who is not illegal in Germany has to be scared because of our party," said AfD Saxony-Anhalt chairman Martin Reichardt.
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Reichardt → accept → party
Elon Musk, Trump react to election results
AfD politicians in Saxony-Anhalt have praised U.S. President Donald Trump as a source of inspiration, even using the catchphrase "Make Saxony-Anhalt Great Again" on the campaign trail, an echo of Trump's MAGA movement.
Some in the United States are already responding to Sunday's win with their congratulations.
Elon Musk wrote "Gut gemacht!" (which translates to "well done") in response to Weidel's post on X congratulating Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD candidate to lead Saxony-Anhalt, on his win.
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which → react → win
Musk previously endorsed the party at a rally in Saxony-Anhalt in 2025.
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Musk → endorse → 2025
Trump also posted a screenshot of the preliminary election results to his Truth Social page on Sunday evening.
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Trump → post → evening
Siegmund said Germany's success hinges on having more “sensible diplomacy” with other countries such as the U.S. and Russia.
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success → say → U.S.
"Momentum is still on the side of the right-wing populists," said Oliver Schmidtke, former director of the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria in B.C.
"
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Schmidtke → say → B.C.
I think right-wing populists around the western world, they see it as a sign that the frustration with old parties is very profound.
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frustration → think → parties
"
The win is also an unprecedented blow to the established political system in Germany, according to Marcus Böick, a University of Cambridge professor who studies modern German history.
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who → accord → history
Voters in rural areas, of which there are many in Saxony-Anhalt, feel neglected by so-called elites in Berlin, he said.
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he → be → Berlin
"At the moment it’s quite desperate, the situation," said Böick, who is from Saxony-Anhalt.
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who → ’ → Anhalt
He said many people living in the former East Germany have grappled with ongoing inequality, unemployment and a lower quality of life compared to states in the west, more than three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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people → say → Wall
"How should you get out of the mess?"
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you → get → mess
German chancellor faces widespread unpopularity
Voter turnout in Sunday's election was around 78 per cent, according to the state election commissioner, reportedly the highest turnout in Saxony-Anhalt since German reunification in 1990.
The AfD more than doubled its support from Saxony-Anhalt's last election in 2021, but it fell just three seats short of securing an absolute majority.
That means the party could still face challenges in forming government or electing Siegmund to head the state, since the German political system is usually governed by a coalition of more than one party.
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system → face → party
At a news conference in Berlin on Monday, Siegmund said the AfD will speak with individual parliamentary groups and lawmakers to see if they would support the party in governing Saxony-Anhalt.
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they → say → Anhalt
"We will, of course, hold discussions to see whether there are — and this is a crucial message today — individual parliamentary groups or individual MPs willing to join us in tackling this historic task," said Siegmund in German.
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Siegmund → hold → German
The win is also already leading to questions for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which after 24 years of governing in Saxony-Anhalt suffered major losses on Sunday.
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which → lead → Sunday
The CDU received just 17.2 per cent of the vote, compared to 37.1 per cent last election.
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CDU → receive → cent
The centre-right party also leads Germany federally under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is facing widespread unpopularity.
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who → lead → unpopularity
"I predict that the CDU will never again win a federal election," Weidel told reporters in German on Sunday.
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Weidel → predict → Sunday
Merz said at a news conference in Berlin on Monday that the results of Saxony-Anhalt's election have shaken him personally.
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results → say → him
He said Germany has a special responsibility to protect its constitution because of its past, and he pledged introducing reforms to improve the country's sluggish economy.
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he → say → economy
"We cannot simply return to business as usual," said Merz, standing beside the lead candidate for the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze.
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Merz → return → Schulze
The CDU and other mainstream political parties have previously kept the AfD out of state power by forming coalition governments by refusing to work with them.
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CDU → keep → them
The strategy is known as "the firewall" and is meant to safeguard German democracy against threats to the country's postwar liberal values and constitution.
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strategy → know → values
But experts say options for the mainstream political parties to form a coalition that will keep the AfD out of power in Saxony-Anhalt are limited, especially with the party's level of public support.
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that → say → support
The AfD also leads national opinion polls at 27 per cent, according to German election research company Infratest-Dimap, and secured the second-highest number of seats in the 2025 federal election.
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AfD → lead → election
A feather in Russia's cap
The AfD is also pitching major overhauls to Germany's current policy toward Russia — and there are reported concerns about the party's ties to the country, because if the AfD holds state power, it could control state-level domestic intelligence services.
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it → pitch → services
Weidel told reporters on Sunday that the AfD party wants to help facilitate peace negotiations amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, but experts say the party takes a clear pro-Russia stance.
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party → tell → stance
Party lawmakers have reportedly praised and visited the country and called for an end to support for Ukraine; in the Saxony-Anhalt AfD's government manifesto, it states that it has a strong interest in good relations with Russia both "economically and culturally."
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it → praise → Russia
Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russia's sovereign wealth fund who is considered a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also offered his praise for the AfD party on X.
"AfD will restore Germany and Europe by leading the common-sense approach that migrant-friendly, warmongering Biden-think EU politicians tried to eradicate," wrote Dmitriev, who ended his message depicting shaking hand emojis between the acronyms for Russia, Germany and the United States.
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who → consider → Russia
Schmidtke said Putin supports right-wing populist movements throughout the world to sow division and weaken support for democracy.
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Putin → say → democracy
"I'm sure the champagne was opened at the Kremlin to see a party that has very strong pro-Russian links and doesn't want to support Ukraine anymore," said Schmidtke of Sunday’s election results in Saxony-Anhalt.
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Schmidtke → open → Anhalt
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