"Alternative for Germany" achieves historic result in elections

"Alternative for Germany" achieved a historic result in the elections

The "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party won the parliamentary elections in Saxony-Anhalt with a record result for itself — 43.8 percent of the vote. The party's result in this region five years ago was twice as low (20.8 percent). With this result, the party won 39 out of 83 seats in the local parliament — the Landtag. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), chaired by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which had governed this region for the last 24 years, received 17.2 percent of the vote and secured only 15 seats in parliament (in the 2021 elections, this party had received 37.1 percent of the vote). The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) entered parliament with 9.3 percent, the "Greens" with 8.9 percent, the Left Party with 8.6 percent, and the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance" (BSW) with 5.3 percent of the vote. A record turnout was observed in the elections — 77.8 percent of voters came to the polling stations.

Saxony-Anhalt is one of the states in eastern Germany, formerly part of the GDR. It is considered one of the poorest regions of the country — in 2025, the average gross salary for half of the population in this region did not exceed 3,563 euros per month, while the average salary across Germany was 4,217 euros.

The "Alternative for Germany" has traditionally enjoyed stronger support in the east of the country than in the west (although the party's influence in western regions has also been growing in recent years). In the 2025 federal elections, the party took first place in all five regions of the former GDR (excluding Berlin, which was half in the GDR). In 2024, the "Alternatives" won regional elections in Thuringia for the first time in history — but remained in opposition because no other party wanted to enter into a coalition with them.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was "deeply shaken" by the election results. He called this result "the CDU's heaviest defeat in recent decades," but stated that the Christian Democrats would not fight for the opportunity to form a coalition with all other parties to leave the "Alternatives" in the minority. Sven Schulze, the leader of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, said: "Due to winning the election, the responsibility to govern is now placed on the 'Alternative for Germany', we are moving into opposition."

For the first time in Germany's post-war history, the far-right will have the opportunity to form a government. The "Alternative for Germany" fell three seats short of an absolute majority — it has only 39 seats. For this reason, the party will be forced to form a coalition government. The CDU, SPD, "Greens," and "Left" also have a total of 39 seats. All of these forces adhere to the "brandmauer" (firewall) policy — this is what the refusal of any cooperation with far-right parties is called in Germany. At the same time, the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance," which holds five seats, does not rule out cooperation with the "Alternatives." Thus, the AfD will be able to form a coalition with the BSW or establish its own minority government.