On September 6, Alternative for Germany, or AfD, a far-right party in Germany, won by a landslide in an election in Saxony-Anhalt, a small state in eastern Germany. Unlike the mild broader interest that would normally greet a small regional election, this one has resounded far beyond. Germany has famously isolated far-right parties since the end of WWII. Other parties within Germany have historically pledged not to work with extremist parties, including AfD, but the voters spoke loudly in favor of the party in this election, leaving open the possibility of Germany’s first far-right state government since the Nazi era. In addition to concerns about what this means for Germany, there are also concerns that AfD’s win signals an accelerating trend toward far-right parties in other European nations.
SFS Professor Anna von der Goltz, a historian whose work centers on the political and cultural history of Germany in the 20th century, took time to answer some questions about the election and what it might mean for Germany and Europe.
Q. For those unfamiliar with the German political system, briefly, what is Saxony-Anhalt, and what does this state election mean within the overall politics of Germany?
A. The Federal Republic of Germany is comprised of sixteen federal states, known as Bundesländer. Each state has its own constitution, state government and parliament. The states determine education and cultural policy and have authority over policing. They are also represented in the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, where they help shape national laws.
With a population of approximately 2.1 million people (out of 83 million for Germany overall), Saxony-Anhalt is one of the smaller German states. Until 1990, its territory was part of the socialist German Democratic Republic. For the past 24 years, it has been governed by coalition governments led by the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the party of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In the state elections held on September 6, 2026, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party received the largest share of the vote by far: an extraordinarily high 43.8%. This was especially noteworthy given the increasingly fragmented multi-party system. It was more than double their 2021 vote share and the largest any party has received in Saxony-Anhalt since unification. The Christian Democrats came in second with just 17.2% of the vote, less than half of their 2021 vote share. Although Saxony-Anhalt has not traditionally played a big role in national politics, and this is not even the first time the AfD has won a state election—they previously won in Thuringia in 2024—this result is rightly being interpreted as a major turning point in German politics. It is the first time since the Nazi era that a far-right party is likely to govern a German state.
The AfD’s striking result and the Christian Democrats’ unexpectedly large loss also put great pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his coalition with the Social Democrats, who performed poorly on September 6 as well. Merz is particularly unpopular, and the AfD has led in national polls for some time. If the state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20 prove equally disastrous for the Christian Democrats, Merz will be in even deeper political trouble.
Q. Was the AfD victory foreseeable, or was it a surprise?
A. Polls had suggested for some time that the AfD would receive the largest share of the vote by far. Ulrich Siegmund was an effective campaigner who used social media and humor to project optimism. At the same time, Saxony-Anhalt, a state plagued by depopulation, high unemployment, an aging population and nearly a quarter century of continuous Christian Democrat governance, was fertile ground for a far-right party promising to overturn the status quo. However, the magnitude of the AfD’s victory and the extent of the Christian Democrats’ collapse were surprising.
Q. Germany has been led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the Social Democratic Party (SPD)—or a coalition involving the two—since 1949. Why are Germans, at this moment in history, closer than ever to changing this 70+ year balance?
A. Voters in many other parts of Europe have turned away from what used to be considered “catch-all” conservative, Christian democratic and Social democratic parties for some of the same reasons: structural changes in society and the economy, such as deindustrialization and a rise in individualism, that have eroded traditional voter milieus, such as the labor movement; and the emergence of new social and cultural cleavages. This shift has undoubtedly been influenced by the changing—and increasingly siloed—media landscape. Voters increasingly feel that these two parties are ill-positioned to address the country’s many interlocking crises.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the legacies of 40 years of socialist governance and, even more importantly, the legacies of the post-unification era also play a role in explaining the disillusionment with the traditional parties, as well as the size of the AfD victory. It will take time for scholars to fully interpret the results, but one figure stood out to me immediately: the AfD performed disproportionately well among voters aged 35 to 69 (the party performed worst among voters aged 70 and over). These are the generations who were children or young adults in the 1990s and 2000s. Their life chances and identities were shaped by the post-unification era, when, on average, one out of every five people in their community left for a better job in the West. While the far-right victory is certainly part of a broader global right-wing populist wave, some factors are more specific to East Germany and Saxony-Anhalt.
Roy Zuo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Q. Why have German political parties previously pledged not to work with AfD, and is that likely to change now?
A. Following the experience of National Socialism, the Federal Republic of Germany defined itself as a “militant democracy” that would remain vigilant against extremists on the left and right. At times, parties considered to have violated the constitution, such as the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the right-wing Sozialistische Reichspartei in the 1950s, were outlawed by Germany’s highest court. There has been some discussion about banning the AfD, but nothing has come of it yet. All parties have pledged not to work with the AfD, except for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). This relatively new party is centered around the former Die Linke chairwoman and has embraced hardline immigration policies. The Christian Democrats refer to their pledge of non-cooperation as the “firewall.” They also refuse to cooperate with Die Linke, the far-left party. The “firewall” was designed to keep the AfD in check by failing to normalize it, but the far right’s recent successes suggest that it has not worked as intended. Some argue that it has even helped the AfD by enabling the party to portray itself as a victim. The Christian Democrats have been increasingly divided over how to deal with the AfD, especially in former East German states, where the far right tends to be strongest. In this new era of far-right dominance, when no other coalition government can reach a majority, democratic governance becomes impossible. That is the situation Saxony-Anhalt is now facing. It will fuel the ongoing debate about how to deal with the AfD.
Q. In your opinion, does this AfD victory portend anything about other upcoming European elections, especially France, or should it be viewed as something specific to Germany and current German politics?
A. Unfortunately, I do not think that it bodes well for liberal democracy. It is not a predictor, but many of the issues that drove the success of the AfD transcend German national politics. The developments in Germany are part of broader European and global political shifts that will likely continue to bolster support for the far right in France and elsewhere. At the same time, however, there are also specific German and local dynamics at play. The two upcoming state elections should provide further insight into which of these dynamics are the most significant.
Top and cover image: Ministry of the Interior of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Paul-René Spill (original), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons