Germany is conducting a series of significant state elections during September, with particular attention focused on Saxony-Anhalt’s vote this month. These contests could substantially reshape the political landscape and create additional challenges for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s federal government. Three states—Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin—are holding elections, with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) widely expected to achieve substantial electoral gains across all three contests.
The AfD, which emerged in 2013 initially as an anti-euro movement before evolving into an anti-immigrant party, has consolidated support among voters concerned about economic stagnation, immigration levels, and cultural developments. Current polling for Saxony-Anhalt places the party at approximately 40-42%, positioning it to potentially achieve an absolute parliamentary majority—a historic milestone for the far-right since the post-World War II era. Success in the state would prove strategically valuable, as German state governments maintain representation in the upper house of parliament and wield considerable authority over education, culture, and domestic security matters.
Should the AfD secure power in Saxony-Anhalt, the party has outlined an extensive policy agenda. Plans include immediate deportations of undocumented immigrants, curriculum changes that would expand Russian language instruction while reducing Holocaust-related content, the introduction of separate educational tracks for asylum-seeker children, and permission for homeschooling. The party also proposes eliminating windfarm installations, reducing funding to public broadcasters, and establishing civilian watch groups to monitor left-wing extremism.
Ulrich Siegmund, the party’s 36-year-old state leader, has become a prominent public figure with substantial social media following. The mainstream parties—the CDU, Social Democrats, and Greens—have publicly committed to forming coalitions to prevent an AfD-led government, though such arrangements face practical complications. The CDU has explicitly ruled out cooperation with the AfD, though it may require support from the far-left Die Linke party to achieve a working majority.
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