(de-news.net) – Although the AfD received 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election, the party was unable to secure an absolute majority, which has left the formation of the government uncertain. The outcome has created a challenging political struggle over coalitions, minority rule, or new elections.
Preliminary results show that the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won the Saxony-Anhalt state election by a substantial margin but fell short of the absolute majority needed to govern alone. The state election authority put the AfD at 43.8 percent, while the CDU suffered a major setback, falling to 17.2 percent — its weakest performance in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. The SPD won 9.3 percent, followed by the Greens at 8.9 percent and the Left at 8.6 percent after both parties recorded slight losses. The BSW narrowly cleared the threshold for parliamentary representation with 5.3 percent, while the FDP was eliminated from the state parliament after receiving just 2.6 percent. Turnout also rose sharply: Of approximately 1.7 million eligible voters, 77.8 percent cast ballots, compared with roughly 60 percent in the previous election.
The AfD’s strong electoral showing nevertheless leaves it facing a difficult path to government because it would require at least one coalition partner. So far, all other parties have rejected the possibility of forming a coalition with the AfD, although the BSW has indicated that it is open to discussions about cooperation. Preventing an AfD-led government would consequently require the five other parties represented in the new parliament to reach agreement on a joint governing arrangement. Both possible routes — an AfD coalition involving another party or a broad alliance designed to keep the AfD out of government — have been viewed as politically unlikely.
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s leading candidate, subsequently made clear that his party would not sacrifice its political objectives in exchange for a governing agreement. Rather than accepting substantial concessions, he said, the AfD intended to remain committed to its positions while holding discussions with all parliamentary groups as well as individual lawmakers. One possible route could involve formal agreements with members of other parties to secure the votes required for government formation. Siegmund also indicated that the AfD would be prepared for a return to the ballot box if efforts to establish a government proved unsuccessful, while making clear that he did not intend to lead a minority government.
Sven Schulze, the BSW’s lead candidate, meanwhile signaled a willingness to cooperate with the AfD on individual policy questions without necessarily committing to a broader governing alliance. He reaffirmed that the BSW parliamentary group would abstain in a possible third round of a minister-president vote, a position that could enable Siegmund to prevail. Schulze identified opposition to sanctions against Russia as one issue on which the two parties shared common ground. At the same time, the BSW said it intended to put forward a nonpartisan candidate for minister-president and would soon identify a suitable person from Saxony-Anhalt for the position.
For the incumbent CDU minister-president, Schulze, the election represented a significant political defeat. He acknowledged that his party had lost and described the result as deeply damaging. The significance of the vote, he argued, now had to be confronted by those assuming political responsibility in Saxony-Anhalt as well as by political actors beyond the state. Schulze also said he did not expect members of the CDU parliamentary group to break ranks and support the AfD.
AfD seeks stable government as allies reject cooperation
At a post-election review in Berlin with AfD federal leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, Siegmund portrayed the result as an unmistakable mandate for his party to seek a role in government. He argued that the scale of the AfD’s victory amounted to an exceptionally strong electoral endorsement and said the party would seek discussions with every parliamentary faction or with individual lawmakers. The immediate objective, he emphasized, was to establish a stable majority without abandoning the AfD’s core principles. Should those efforts fail, Siegmund again stressed that his party was prepared to face fresh elections rather than accept arrangements that would compromise its political identity.
Chrupalla likewise emphasized the need to pursue a stable governing arrangement, saying the AfD would extend discussions to all political sides and then assess who was prepared to engage. The CDU, he argued, would have to confront the consequences of its particularly poor result and determine what political conclusions should follow. Chrupalla also stressed that opposition parties bore responsibility for political stability in the state. At the same time, he cautioned against moving immediately toward another election, arguing that the AfD first wanted to explore possible avenues for forming a government. He also presented the party as seeking to reach citizens who had not voted for it and to reduce political divisions, while maintaining that it was prepared for all possible outcomes.
Weidel also pointed beyond Siegmund’s immediate political role in Saxony-Anhalt. While his current task, she said, was to serve either as minister-president or opposition leader in the state, she could also envision him eventually taking on a leadership role at the federal level. Weidel described him as a credible politician who had conducted a particularly strong election campaign. She further emphasized that building up a wider group of leadership figures within the AfD had long been among her objectives, placing Siegmund among those she regarded as part of that emerging leadership.
Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder (CSU) characterized the AfD’s decisive victory as a historic political turning point, while directing a warning at the CDU. He argued that the party should not attempt to preserve the minister-president’s position by governing with an exceptionally narrow majority simply for the sake of remaining in office. Such an arrangement, Söder suggested, would be difficult for voters to understand given that the electoral mandate had clearly gone to the AfD. Chancellor’s Office Minister Karin Warken, meanwhile, once again categorically rejected any possibility of CDU cooperation with the AfD.
The election also prompted expressions of concern from the parties that remained outside the possibility of an AfD-led government. Green lead candidate Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz said the prospect of an AfD government was generating anxiety among women, queer people and those with immigrant backgrounds. Left candidate von Angern described the result as a dark day for Saxony-Anhalt, while SPD state chairwoman Julliane Kleemann characterized the situation as a difficult moment for democracy. For the FDP, which failed to retain its representation in the state legislature, the result also produced an immediate leadership consequence: State chairwoman Lydia Hüskens announced that she would resign.
