A new era begins in Germany. The AfD (Alternative for Germany) has won the regional elections held this Sunday in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the votes, being on the verge of an absolute majority.
In total, the party led by Ulrich Siegmund has won 39 seats out of the total of 83 seats in the state chamber, according to preliminary data released by the regional electoral authorities, leaving it just three short of the absolute majority.
In second place is the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), with 17.2% of the ballots, which has seen its support reduced to less than half of the 37.1% that had given it victory in 2021 (19.9 points less). And the far-right party has managed to double the percentage it had achieved in 2021, with 20.8%, which places it very close to power.
The AfD’s government options
AfD could have a chance to govern only if the left-wing nationalist BSW party enters parliament. It is the only formation that has distanced itself from the cordon sanitaire of the rest of the parties against the extreme right and has shown itself willing to facilitate Siegmund’s investiture.
The strongly anti-immigration party shares views with the AfD on some issues. For this reason, BSW could give its support to a pact between both parties, but has insisted on promoting “a non-partisan chief minister”, an idea that would prevent Sven Schulze, of the CDU, from continuing to lead the state.
The head of the Alliance list in the state, Claudia Wittig, has shown herself open to cooperating with Alternative for Germany on certain political issues. “We will always make our decisions based on the issues,” he declared on the German public broadcaster ARD.
The AfD aspires to a government alone
For its part, the victorious far-right formation leans towards a government alone, as Ulrich Siegmund has stated. Furthermore, several prominent representatives of the AfD have already stressed during the election night, as reported by ARD, that the result constitutes a clear mandate for the party to form a government.
Alternative for Germany will not abandon its values or its objectives “for any power play,” Siegmund stressed in statements to the ZDF public channel in which he has gone so far as to rule out coalitions that imply far-reaching commitments with respect to his program. “In case of emergency, there will simply be new elections,” he warned.
The AfD has been classified as a far-right party by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2023, on the grounds that the party attacks “the essential principles of the free democratic order”, in particular against “the guarantee of human dignity enshrined in the Basic Law.” The AfD has appealed the classification, but the process is currently suspended.
If the AfD came to power, it would be the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany that a party classified as far-right would govern a federal state, since, although it won the state elections in Thuringia in 2024, it failed to govern.
When will the new mandate begin
According to the state Constitution, the new Parliament must meet no later than 30 days after the elections, at which time the terms of the cabinet members officially end.
On the other hand, there is no deadline to elect the new minister-president. In this election, without debate and by secret ballot, the candidate who obtains the majority of votes in the state Parliament in the first round is elected.
If the first round fails, a second round must be held within seven days. If a candidate is not elected either, the state Parliament must decide within 14 days whether to end the legislature.
If the majority of members do not decide to end the term, a new round of voting is immediately held and the candidate who receives the majority of the votes cast is elected.
