The AfD doesn't necessarily want to govern - even with an absolute majority
AfD leading candidate Ulrich Siegmund had announced several times that he would only govern in Saxony-Anhalt with an absolute majority - now he is leaving an election for Prime Minister open even with an absolute majority and emphasizes that he needs a “stable majority”. When asked whether he would aim for the Prime Minister's Office with a one-vote majority in the state parliament, Siegmund told the "Bild" newspaper (Saturday): "We will decide that on Monday. Let's see how it turns out."
Siegmund emphasized that he was interested in a “stable majority” in the state parliament. "What do I do if one or two or three MPs are in the hospital? Should I then carry them on a stretcher into the state parliament to vote?" Siegmund told the "Bild" newspaper. It should not be the case that the country’s “progress is paralyzed” “because one or two MPs are absent due to health reasons,” added the AfD top candidate.
Demonstration for democracy in Magdeburg
Willy-Brandt-Platz in front of Magdeburg Central Station is full of people. The day before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the “Sachsen-Anhalt Weltoffen” alliance organized a “demonstration for democracy” in the city - several thousand people came. Some indicate on signs and posters where they came from: these include Hildesheim, Braunschweig, Leipzig or Munich.
“Today the whole of Germany is looking at us, and tomorrow too,” an organizer said to the visitors before the demonstration started moving. “Together we are sending a strong message for democracy, diversity and human dignity.” The demonstration will reach its destination on Cathedral Square in the city center, where the alliance is holding a “democracy festival” from 3 p.m.
IT specialist accuses the state of Berlin of great negligence
The IT specialist Manuel Atug makes serious accusations against the state of Berlin after the hacker attack and the outflow of large amounts of data. “The state of Berlin acted with gross negligence and intentionally failed to comply with secrecy regulations,” he told the German Press Agency. “I’m really shocked and speechless about this.” There are very strict and precise regulations as well as several security levels for the storage and processing of secret documents. Apparently these were not applied sufficiently.
Atug is the founder and spokesperson of AG Kritis, an independent working group that deals with critical infrastructures. He works as a security consultant for critical infrastructure. Atug said that he had been invited twice as an expert to the Berlin Interior Committee, once in 2023 and once in 2025. At that time, he pointed out glaring security gaps to those responsible: "You practice desolate cybersecurity. You urgently need to take care of your security processes." He warned that neglecting security would have serious consequences. “That’s exactly what has happened now.”
Union wants to expel foreigners who are hostile to women and queers
After the attack on Christopher Street Day, the Union is urging that foreigners who commit anti-queer, anti-women or anti-Christian crimes should lose their right of residence. “The terrible attack on Christopher Street Day in Berlin showed it again: Fanatical Islamists not only reject our way of life, they fight it with hatred and violence,” said the domestic policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Alexander Throm (CDU), to “Welt am Sonntag” in Berlin.
After Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, he had already developed the concept of a so-called regular expulsion for foreign criminals with anti-Semitic motives - a proposal that was included in the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD. However, a corresponding change in the law is still pending. Throm is now calling for the concept to be expanded to other crimes, the newspaper says.
Lots going on on election weekend
Several thousand people are expected to take part in demonstrations and rallies in Saxony-Anhalt on Saturday and Sunday. According to police information, a dozen events have been registered in the state capital Magdeburg and several pro-democracy rallies in Halle (Saale). The largest will take place this afternoon on Magdeburg Cathedral Square: an alliance of trade unions and civil society is expecting around 8,000 participants. In addition, the AfD, which is leading in the polls, is celebrating its official election campaign.
Woidke: SPD needs a clear edge
Brandenburg's SPD Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke advises his party to take a clear stance in view of weak nationwide poll numbers. “The party leadership must take the dissatisfaction in the SPD and the weak poll numbers seriously,” said Woidke to the German Press Agency. “Many people currently no longer recognize what the SPD stands for and what concrete difference social democratic politics makes in their lives.” In the most recent survey by Infratest dimap, the SPD got 13 percent. She has governed nationwide with the Union since 2025.
"In terms of content, the SPD doesn't have to completely reinvent itself. But it has to say what it stands for more clearly, concretely and credibly," said Woidke. “Our strength is bringing together social justice and economic strength.”
In view of the discussion about party leaders Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil, the head of government warned that the debate should not be “shortened to individual people”. There are calls among the SPD base to re-elect the party leadership after the state elections in the fall.
From the Brandenburg head of government's point of view, the SPD should put “100 percent focus on the hard-working middle”. “Good wages, secure jobs and strong collective bargaining are just as important as a reliable pension, affordable energy and affordable housing,” said Woidke, who is also the SPD state chairman.
He advised the party to reflect more on itself. "The SPD must not just react to other people's issues. It needs its own priorities, understandable language and visible results," said Woidke.
This Sunday, a new state parliament will be elected in Saxony-Anhalt, and on September 20th there will be state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the election of the House of Representatives in Berlin. Before the election in Saxony-Anhalt, the SPD Prime Minister was confident that the AfD would not get an absolute majority there.
“I am sure that the people of Saxony-Anhalt will show at the polling stations that they want security and stability and not division,” said Woidke. “What the AfD is planning in its program harms the regional economy and harms people.” The AfD is classified as definitely right-wing extremist in Saxony-Anhalt as in Brandenburg. She is aiming for a sole government in Saxony-Anhalt.
“Every third euro on credit”: Union parliamentary group vice-president calls for austerity measures ahead of budget consultations
Ahead of the upcoming budget discussions in the Bundestag, deputy Union parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg (CDU) warned against debts and called for strict austerity measures for the coming years, which does not stop at climate measures. "We live beyond our means. Every third euro we spend is on credit," Middelberg told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Saturday). “We have to save much more strictly,” he demanded.
For 2027, the budget plans to spend 640 billion euros, including special funds. Of this, more than 200 billion euros alone are to be financed through new loans.
“Such a high proportion of debt is extremely dangerous in the long term,” warned Middelberg. "We could lose our first-class credit rating. That would increase interest rates and generally drive up prices in the long term - to the detriment of all consumers." Therefore, the savings efforts “must now be massively intensified,” said Middelberg.
Specifically, he suggests cutting subsidies, for example for climate protection. "Programs labeled 'climate' should not be taboo either. Some of these measures have no verifiable efficiency. Excessive funding for heat pumps or electric buses, for example, simply drives up prices and can even make necessary changes more expensive," he emphasized.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) will present his draft for the 2027 federal budget to the Bundestag on Tuesday. It will then be discussed by Parliament, although changes could be made.
33 disciplinary proceedings regarding missing service weapons at the Federal Police and BKA
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there have been dozens of disciplinary proceedings in federal police authorities over the past five years because of missing service weapons - the ministry did not disclose the number of weapons that went missing. According to the Interior Ministry's response to a small question from the Greens' parliamentary group, which was available to the Germany editorial network (Saturday), there were a total of 33 disciplinary proceedings during the period. 30 of these were attributable to the Federal Police and three to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
The ministry did not publicly disclose how many service weapons disappeared and where, citing “reasons of state welfare.” The Interior Ministry explained that the information on the numbers, the regional allocation and the specific reasons for the loss could allow conclusions to be drawn about the material operational readiness and logistics of the security authorities and could endanger the security authorities' ability to fulfill their tasks.
Major police operation with helicopter at power plant
After several sabotage attacks on the power grid in North Rhine-Westphalia, there was a major police operation at a power plant in Hamm. As a dpa reporter reported, numerous police cars came to the location on a country road near a forest on Friday evening. A helicopter was also used. The “Hellweger Anzeiger” had previously reported.
A police spokesman said it was a former power plant. It has been out of service for a long time.
Trump on drone discovery: Putin is not planning any attacks on NATO
After the suspected Russian attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, US President Donald Trump still sees no danger of a Russian attack on NATO. "We talk to each other, I know him very well. Putin is not planning an attack on NATO territory," said Trump when asked whether the discovery of an explosive drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport constituted such an attack. The US President did not provide any further information.
Trump had already made similar comments at the end of August after CIA chief John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Moscow. The Wall Street Journal and Politico magazine previously reported that Ratcliffe had warned the Kremlin against attacking NATO allies. At this point, however, the federal government had not yet officially blamed Russia for the attempted attack.
The drone, which was prepared with explosives and a detonation mechanism, was discovered in the security area of Leipzig/Halle Airport between Ukrainian cargo planes at the beginning of August.
Police discover suspected saboteur's vehicle - suspect still on the run
In a forest in Niederzier in the Düren district of North Rhine-Westphalia, the police found the converted truck of the suspected saboteur, who is said to be behind several attacks on the power supply. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) announced this at a joint press conference with Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) late on Friday afternoon in Düsseldorf. However, the car was abandoned and the suspect is still on the run. The site is near the long-contested Hambach open-cast lignite mine.
Reul was convinced that it was only a matter of time before the suspect was found. Now the man is probably on foot and won't get far, said Reul. The police said they were “working at full speed and using large amounts of cutlery”.
The police also found explosives in the 48-year-old suspect's apartment in Gevelsberg, explained Reul. There is no further evidence that the man is particularly dangerous. The letter of confession is authentic. According to Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt, it is most likely a lone perpetrator and “climate terrorism”.
AfD politicians call for election observation – together with the right-wing extremist association “One Percent”
Before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, more and more AfD politicians called on their voters to observe the election. Top candidate Ulrich Siegmund said in a social media video that they wanted to “take a close look at every polling station” and needed election observers for this. He also presented an interactive map on which his followers can see which polling stations are already being watched by AfD sympathizers and which are not - "so that we don't leave any polling station unoccupied."
