Germany’s Alternative for Germany party scored a sweeping victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, delivering the AfD its strongest result in a German state election and dealing a major setback to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union.
The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, more than doubling the 20.8% it received in Saxony-Anhalt’s 2021 election. The CDU finished a distant second with 17.2%, down sharply from the 37.1% it received five years earlier. Final results gave the AfD 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, leaving it three seats short of the 42 required for an outright majority.
The result represents a major breakthrough for a party that has steadily increased its support, particularly in eastern Germany. The AfD previously finished first in neighboring Thuringia’s 2024 state election but was unable to form a government because other parties refused to work with it. In Saxony-Anhalt, the party came much closer to winning enough seats to govern without a coalition, according to a report from AP.
Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old AfD candidate for state premier, celebrated the result alongside national party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla in Magdeburg. Siegmund said the party had “made history” and argued that voters had given the AfD a mandate for major political change. According to The Associated Press, he also ruled out trying to run a minority government through shifting agreements with other parties.
Despite the size of the victory, it remains unclear whether the AfD will actually take control of the Saxony-Anhalt government. Germany’s major established parties have maintained what is commonly called a “firewall,” refusing to form coalitions with the AfD. The CDU said after Sunday’s vote that it would continue to reject cooperation with the party.
The AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt organization has been classified as a proven right-wing extremist group by the state’s domestic intelligence agency. The agency has cited positions and statements that it says conflict with Germany’s democratic constitutional order. The AfD rejects accusations of extremism and has repeatedly argued that such classifications are politically motivated.
The election also produced difficult numbers for parties attempting to form a government without the AfD. The Social Democrats received 9.3%, the Greens 8.9% and the Left Party 8.6%, with each winning eight seats. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, known as BSW, received 5.3% and took five seats. The CDU won 15 seats. Together, all parties other than the AfD hold 44 seats, but deep political differences between them could make forming a stable alternative government difficult.
Turnout reached 77.8%, a sharp increase from 60.3% in 2021 and the highest level recorded in the state since German reunification. The AfD appears to have benefited not only from voters switching away from other parties but also from people who had previously stayed home.
Immigration was one of the central issues in the campaign. Siegmund has called for a major increase in deportations and tighter restrictions on migration. The AfD also campaigned on changes to schools, public broadcasting and cultural policies. Its state platform includes proposals to prohibit official rainbow flags at schools, encourage the display of Germany’s national flag and allow homeschooling.
The party has also criticized German support for Ukraine and advocated warmer relations with Russia. Some of those policies, however, cannot be decided by a state government. Foreign policy, sanctions and Germany’s broader relationship with Russia and Ukraine remain primarily federal responsibilities. Saxony-Anhalt would nevertheless have significant authority over areas including education and domestic security. State governments also participate in the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper legislative chamber.
The vote represents a serious political problem for Chancellor Merz. His CDU had governed Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years, but its support fell by roughly half in Sunday’s election. Reuters reported that an ARD survey found 87% of voters in the state were dissatisfied with the federal government. Siegmund repeatedly tried to turn that dissatisfaction into support for the AfD during the campaign.
Germany’s weak economic performance has added to the pressure on Merz. The country has struggled with sluggish growth, industrial competition and concerns about jobs and investment. The AfD has presented itself as an alternative to Germany’s established parties, while its opponents warn that its policies on immigration, the European Union and Russia could create economic and diplomatic problems.
The result does not automatically make Siegmund the state’s next premier. AfD leaders have said they want to govern, while other parties now face the difficult task of deciding whether they can assemble a workable majority without the election winner. Negotiations could take weeks, and the unusual makeup of the new parliament leaves several possible outcomes.
Whatever government eventually emerges, the size of the AfD victory has national implications. The party is already the largest opposition group in Germany’s federal parliament, and Reuters reported that a recent INSA poll placed it at 28% nationally. AfD leaders have openly described Saxony-Anhalt as part of their effort to build momentum toward Germany’s next federal election in 2029, according to Reuters..
Sunday’s result showed how dramatically the political balance has shifted in parts of eastern Germany. The AfD did not win enough seats to govern alone, but securing nearly 44% of the vote gives it a dominant position in Saxony-Anhalt and creates one of the most difficult government-formation problems Germany has faced at the state level in recent years.
IMAGE: Ulrich Siegmund speaks at an AfD event in Magdeburg on February 18, 2026.. Photo: MatthiasK2007 / Wikimedia, taken 2026-07-18, CC BY-SA 4.0