Merz Under Pressure From Far-Right Election Triumph
Broadcasters projected the AfD was three seats short of a majority, setting up coalition talks as it seeks its first state government.
- On Sunday, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany secured its biggest victory yet in Saxony-Anhalt with 44% of the vote, while the centre-right CDU trailed with about 18%, according to broadcasters' projections.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces renewed pressure after the result, as critics note the AfD has grown stronger since he took office last year promising to push back the party despite the Union's shift to a more conservative course.
- Triumphant AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund mocked 70-year-old Merz as "a very good campaigner," while Schleswig-Holstein CDU premier Daniel Guenther called the result "a shocking moment for our country."
- With the AfD falling three seats short of an absolute majority of 42 seats, forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt will involve lengthy haggling; Dennis Radtke, chairman of the CDU's employee wing, called the result a "watershed moment."
- AfD national co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla view the regional success as a blueprint for 2029 national elections, with the party officially listed as "right-wing extremist" by Germany's domestic intelligence agency.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Far-right AfD scores historic win in Saxony-Anhalt, rattling Berlin and Paris
The AfD’s record result in Saxony-Anhalt has sent shock waves through Germany and beyond, piling pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and raising fresh concerns across Europe over the far-right’s advance.
#resident_rating. The elections in Saxony-Anhalt were a political earthquake for Germany and a personal defeat for Friedrich Merz
#resident_ratingThe elections in Saxony-Anhalt were a political earthquake for Germany and a personal defeat for Friedrich Merz. The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, more than twice as much as the CDU, which fell to 17.2%. The result itself isn't so...
In the elections on Sunday, September 6 in Saxony-Anhalt, which were overwhelmed by AfD's ultra-radestra, the Cdu collapsed beyond any forecast: 18.5% is below the psychological threshold of 20% and no poll had predicted it.
Friedrich Merz is facing the challenge of reacting to the electoral triumph of the anti-immigration and pro-Russian AfD party, an election that puts the extreme right in a favorable position to lead a German region
Readers discuss the AfD success in Saxony-Anhalt, criticism of Friedrich Merz and the consequences for state politics.
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