Germany: Political and security tensions before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt

German Education Minister Karin Breen expressed her strong opposition to abolishing compulsory school attendance, as demanded by the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The minister, who belongs to the Christian Democratic Party, said in statements to the German News Agency (DPA): “Abandoning compulsory school attendance would be a disaster at the level of societal policy,” adding that it would be better from her point of view “to think instead about compulsory methods in nurseries.”

In its program for the state parliament elections scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, the Alternative for Germany party, under the title “Compulsory education instead of compulsory school,” calls for the freedom to choose between school education and home education. Home-schooled children are scheduled to undergo central examinations every six months.

Brin believes this would be the wrong path. The Minister said: “I consider compulsory school attendance one of the major achievements of the modern state of law... Children need school as a place for learning and life. Children who do not go to school face the risk of being exposed to major psychological disorders.”

According to Breen, the state does not force children in any way to attend public schools, but rather parents can choose private alternatives with different concepts, such as church schools or Montessori schools, explaining that these schools are subject to state supervision and adhere to common rules.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called yesterday evening, Friday, for the protection of democracy and the rule of law in the country from those “who mock and trample on them,” ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt state elections scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday (September 6, 2026), which could bring the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party to power.

“Race-based thinking and nationalist isolationism are simply not the solution to the challenges of the 21st century,” Steinmeier said at a community festival attended by 2,000 volunteers at his secondary residence in Bonn.

Steinmeier, whose second presidential term will end in March, described liberal democracy as an "achievement" and "a blessing for all of us." He said it is useful to realize that those who want to protect and preserve democracy represent the majority.

These statements came two days before the Saxony-Anhalt state elections, in which the Alternative for Germany party is expected to win. The party was founded in 2013 and adopts a hard-line anti-European and anti-immigration program.

Steinmeier, who did not mention the party or the elections in his statements, added that anger and discontent do not provide any way forward, stressing, "You cannot build a future on hatred and incitement."

The left-wing populist Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance party, which calls for tightening immigration policy, witnessed a wave of mass resignations in eastern Germany today, Friday (September 4, 2026), threatening the stability of the Thuringian state government, just two days before closely watched elections in the neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt. Nine representatives from the "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance", which has been participating in the state's ruling coalition since late 2024, announced their resignation from the party after months of internal disputes.

“We were not elected to be endlessly preoccupied with our internal disputes, we were not elected to fight constant defensive battles, and we were not elected to tolerate the flirtation of the far right,” said Katja Wolff, Thuringia’s deputy prime minister. Wolf added that she would continue to support the conservative-led state government headed by Prime Minister Mario Voigt, who stressed that his government remains cohesive.

These remarkable resignations came in the wake of a long-running dispute between the Thuringia branch of the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance party and the party's founder, Sarah Wagenknecht, who called on her party colleagues to withdraw from the state government. The "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance" party emerged as a splinter group from the "Left Party" in 2024, and quickly gained popularity in eastern Germany thanks to its socially conservative positions and populist economic program.

Parties in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt are entering the final stage of their electoral campaigns in the state, as several parties are holding closing rallies today, Friday (September 4, 2026), to win over voters who have not decided before the vote scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday.

The head of the state government and the first candidate for the conservative Christian Democratic Party, Sven Schulze, is participating in events in the state capital, Magdeburg. The right-wing, populist Alternative for Germany party is also running its election campaign in the capital, with the participation of its first candidate, Ulrich Zigmond, and the head of the party at the federal level, Tino Kruppala.

The Green and Left parties rely on the support of prominent figures. The Left Party's first candidate, Eva von Ungern, is participating in events in Magdeburg and Halle alongside prominent party leaders, Heidi Reichenk, Gregor Giese, and Dietmar Bartsch.

The Green Party intends to organize election events in Halle and Naumburg, with the participation of its first candidate, Susanne Tzipora-Zaedlitz, and the head of the party at the federal level, Felix Banaszak. Other electoral events are scheduled to be held in Magdeburg and Halle tomorrow, Saturday, the day before the vote.

According to the latest opinion polls, the Alternative for Germany party is ahead of the rest of the parties by a clear margin. The party hopes to obtain an absolute majority that will allow it to lead a state government in Germany for the first time.

Saxony-Anhalt is currently governed by a coalition government that includes the Christian Democrats, the center-left Social Democratic Party, and the pro-business Free Democratic Party, but all opinion polls indicate that this coalition will lose its majority following the elections scheduled for Sunday.

About 1.7 million people are entitled to vote in state elections. According to a poll conducted by the election research group Phalen, 31 percent of participants are still unsure who they will vote for, or whether they will vote at all.

German police suspect an act of sabotage after a suspicious object was found in an electricity substation in the city of Dormagen in the west of the country, between Cologne and Dusseldorf, authorities reported early this morning, Friday (September 4, 2026).

The German News Agency (DPA) quoted a police spokesman as saying: Investigators received a letter claiming responsibility for the incident, and also referring to other widely reported suspected cases in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and in Brandenburg. Investigations of the suspicious object, which was discovered by a passer-by at Dormagen station yesterday evening, have not yet been completed. The spokesman said it might be a "suspicious launching device."

The German newspaper "Bild" reported that launching devices for homemade projectiles were found. The report said that timers and copper wires were installed in these devices. The police did not officially confirm these details.

The spokesman said that police officers were also checking other power substations in the surrounding areas, to confirm whether suspicious objects had been placed there. No damage has been detected so far, except for an electrical substation in Bergheim, west of Cologne. The authorities had previously said that unknown persons had thrown cables into overhead power lines to cause a short circuit. Several launching devices were later found.

The authorities observed a similar incident a few hours earlier in the state of Brandenburg. Near the Yenischwalde power station, last Tuesday morning, homemade projectiles resembling New Year's Eve fireworks were used to direct electrically conductive materials toward high-voltage power lines. More than 12 devices designated for this purpose were found. The electricity grid operator said there were no power outages.

Investigators said they believed the incidents in Bergheim and Neuschwalde were acts of sabotage with anti-constitutional motives. According to the newspaper "Bild", the devices found in Dormagen are similar to those found in Bergheim and Neuschwalde. The German newspaper "Tageszeitung" reported on Thursday evening that it had received a letter claiming responsibility for the incident in Brandenburg. According to the postmark, the letter was sent from North Rhine-Westphalia. The newspaper said the sender of the letter described himself as acting alone, provided detailed descriptions of the home-made missiles used, and cited the “immeasurable suffering” caused by the use of fossil fuels as a motive. After conducting extensive investigations, the newspaper stressed that it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the letter’s author was also responsible for the incident.

Joachim Herrmann, Interior Minister of the German state of Bavaria, confirmed today, Thursday (September 3, 2026), that two companies in the defense and security industries were targeted. Hermann said that it was suspected that there was a "political background" to the incident, stressing that the anti-terrorism unit in the Bavarian capital, Munich, had taken over the investigation.

The site is located near the East Train Station in Munich and facilities belonging to the drone companies "Helsing" and "Rhode & Schwarz". Helsing did not comment on the incident. While the technology company Rohde & Schwarz, which supplies the German army and other armies with equipment, confirmed in an interview with Agence France-Presse that it had found incendiary devices near its building, adding that it was “not affected by the attack.”

It is believed that the incendiary devices were thrown from a car around midnight. A witness saw the incident and informed the police, who launched a search for the suspects.

Agence France-Presse quoted a police spokesman as saying that the search operation resulted in the arrest of a 38-year-old Bulgarian man and a 28-year-old Bulgarian woman at a gas station in Munich.

This incident comes two days after suspected sabotage was reported at two German power plants hundreds of kilometers away from each other, and days after Berlin officially blamed Russia for the failed attempted attack with a drone loaded with explosives on Leipzig Airport.

"Overall, this incident shows that, as was already the case in other parts of Germany over recent days, we are now facing an increased risk of attacks on our infrastructure, but also very clearly in relation to our country's defense companies," said Hermann of the Christian Social Union.

He continued: "We must take these risks seriously, and be prepared for the fact that something like this could happen any day, anywhere else in Germany."

The results of a recent opinion poll in Germany showed that the majority of citizens now consider Russia a threat to the country's security, against the backdrop of drone incidents and the war in Ukraine.

According to the results of the Deutschland Trend poll conducted for the ARD network, 56% of participants believe that the Federal Republic of Germany faces a strong or very strong threat from Russia. In contrast, 39% of participants expressed their belief that Russia poses little or no threat to Germany.

The results showed a noticeable difference in the view of German citizens on this matter in the western and eastern parts of the country. While 59% of the citizens of the western states believe that Russia represents a strong or very strong threat to German security, this percentage does not exceed only 42% among the citizens of the eastern states.

While 36% of the population of western Germany believe that Russia represents only a minor or no threat to national security, the percentage of those who hold this opinion reached 47% among the population of the west of the country.

The Infratest Demap Institute conducted its representative poll this time among 1,319 people eligible to vote, with a margin of error ranging between two and three percentage points.

The survey took place from Monday to Wednesday last. In conjunction with the German government’s announcement on Tuesday that the Russian authorities are responsible for the failed attempted attack using a bomb-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany early last month, announcing punitive measures against Moscow, while the Kremlin denies any involvement in the incident.

The German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy announced in a statement today, Thursday (September 3, 2026), that Germany intends to contribute an additional amount of 250 million euros to cover the costs of urgent repair work in the energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

The statement said, "This step aims to ensure energy and heating supplies to the population in Ukraine despite the continued Russian attacks."

The statement quoted German Economy Minister Katharina Reiche as saying: “Energy supplies in particular remain one of the front lines of this war.” Therefore, we support Ukraine in protecting and rebuilding its energy infrastructure, and we call on all international partners to make further efforts.”

Germany intends to provide these funds through the German Reconstruction Credit Bank (KFW), which is owned by the German government.

She added that Germany supports Ukraine in cooperation with the German business sector. The minister, who belongs to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party, the Christian Democrats, explained: “Donations of energy equipment made by German companies have already made it possible to re-supply energy to 1.4 million people. At the same time, we are working to raise private investments for reconstruction.”

The Ministry explained that since the beginning of the war four and a half years ago, the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund has collected about 2.4 billion euros from international donors. With a contribution of 810 million euros to date, Germany is the largest contributing country to the Fund. The Ministry of Economy added that the participation of German supplier companies is actively supported by KFW Bank.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today, Thursday (September 3, 2026), that the Russian government will close the branches of the Goethe Institute, the international cultural institute affiliated with Germany, throughout the country.

Lavrov explained that this step comes in response to Germany's intention to close the "Russian House" in Berlin, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

The German government announced the closure of the Russian House, after a drone loaded with explosives was found at Leipzig Airport. Berlin held Moscow responsible for the attempted attack.

The Goethe Institute has its main branch in Russia in the capital, Moscow, in addition to cultural centers in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Lavrov said, during his speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok: “Of course, it will be closed after the expulsion of our cultural center from there (from Berlin).” He added that Germany realizes that the step it took against the Russian House means the end of its cultural presence in Russia.

Lavrov said that despite all the tensions with the West due to the war against Ukraine, the institute was able to continue its work. It is noteworthy that the Goethe Institute is one of the last German institutes that were still operating in Russia. Russia has classified a large number of organizations and institutions as “undesirable,” which means completely preventing them from operating.