According to preliminary official results released on Saturday, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a historic victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, capturing 43.8% of the vote. The result marks the first time the party has led in a German state election, though it remains short of an absolute majority in the 83-seat regional parliament.
The CDU suffered a significant defeat, winning only 17.2% of the vote and failing to secure a single direct mandate across all 41 constituencies—a stark contrast to their performance in 2021, when they won 40 such seats. CDU lead candidate Sven Schulze conceded the result, stating, “We’re going to have to live with this.”
Six parties are set to enter the state parliament. Alongside the AfD and CDU, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) received 9.3%, the Green Party 8.9%, the Left Party 8.6%, and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) 5.3%. The business-oriented Free Democrats (FDP) failed to clear the 5% threshold, securing just 2.6%.
Voter turnout reached nearly 78%, the highest level recorded in Saxony-Anhalt since German reunification in 1990. The AfD’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, won the direct mandate in Genthin, while Left Party candidates claimed victories in one constituency in Magdeburg and two in Halle.
The outcome has reignited debate over Germany’s “cordon sanitaire,” or political firewall, which has long prevented mainstream parties from cooperating with the AfD, parts of which are classified as right-wing extremist. The firewall faces increasing strain; in January 2025, a CDU motion in the Bundestag passed with AfD support, drawing accusations that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had compromised the policy.
French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad described the result as a “serious moment” for Europe. “This is a serious moment in Europe, seeing the far right win in a regional election in Germany,” Haddad wrote on X. “We must listen with humility to the anger, the concerns, the fears, and respond to them.”
Internationally, Tomio Okamura, president of the Czech parliament’s lower chamber and leader of a far-right party within the Czech governing coalition, congratulated the AfD, attributing their success to the “bad politics” of Germany’s liberal, EU-friendly parties.
Analysts note that the AfD’s breakthrough was fueled not only by migration concerns but also by a more positive campaign narrative under Siegmund, while mainstream parties struggled to offer compelling visions of change. Saxony-Anhalt’s economy, which lags behind the national average with lower wages and higher unemployment, has provided fertile ground for the party’s message that the eastern state has been left behind.
If the AfD forms a government, it could pursue significant shifts in migration, education, and social policy, including calls for more deportations, mandatory work for asylum seekers, cuts to integration programs, and changes to school curricula. However, some proposals may face legal obstacles or fall outside state-level jurisdiction.
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