Political earthquake in Saxony-Anhalt: a sweeping victory for the Alternative for Germany party and mixed international reactions

According to the preliminary official results updated until Monday morning (September 7, 2026), the Alternative for Germany party won more than 43 percent of the votes in the elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt (east), causing a strong political earthquake not only at the internal level but also in Europe and the world.

US President Donald Trump, after revealing the initial results on Sunday evening, rushed to his “Truth Social” platform and published a graph of expectations that showed clear progress for the right-wing party compared to the very disappointing results of the competing democratic parties. The post was not accompanied by any comment.

It is known that relations between the Republican Party, to which Trump belongs, and the Alternative Party are good. As a reminder, just one week before the 2025 general elections, his deputy, J.D. Vance, delivered a historic speech to the Munich Security Conference, in which he called on the main German parties to abandon the “wall of isolation” they impose on the AfD.

Musk: “Well done!”

Elon Musk, the technology entrepreneur, has also expressed his support for the “alternative” on previous occasions, and was quick to congratulate him and offer him a possible cooperation deal. Musk wrote on his social media platform “X”: “Well done!” This came in response to a post by the co-chair of the Alternative Party, in which Alice Weidel congratulated the party's main candidate, Ulrich Zigmund, on the result.

Zigmund immediately responded to Musk, thanking him for his “support.” “If we take responsibility here, I would very much welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation,” Zigmund wrote. “Germany will once again become a place worth investing in.” "Best regards from Saxony-Anhalt!"

Richard Grenell, the former US ambassador to Germany who repeatedly sparked controversy during his time as a diplomat, did not fail to offer congratulations in turn, writing: “A big win and a new day in Germany.” Grenell, like Musk, has close ties to US President Donald Trump.

European confusion

This scene of contentment is matched, on the other side of the Old Continent, by confusion and extreme disparity between the liberal and extreme right-wing forces. On Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on the “X” platform a comment in which he did not hide his anger, stressing that “only fools or traitors in Poland would rejoice in the victory of the AfD.” In the same context, the French Minister for European Affairs, Benjamin Haddad, described the event as a “dangerous moment in Europe,” stressing: “We must humbly listen to the anger, fears and concerns and respond to them, but nationalism and xenophobia will never be a solution.” The minister stressed the need "not to forget our history," noting that this is the essence of the importance of the decisions taken by France and Germany.

On the other hand, Czech Parliament Speaker Tomio Okamura - the leader of the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party - told Czech television that he would like to congratulate the Alternative for Germany party on its victory. “This is the result of the bad policies pursued by the current pro-EU liberal parties,” said Okamura, whose party is the junior partner in the right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis.