International press reactions to the AfD election results in Saxony-Anhalt

The strong performance of the AfD and the bitter fall of the CDU in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt are also receiving a lot of attention abroad. Media such as the BBC and the English-language site of the Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera pushed the first forecasts onto their readers' cell phones. Reporting was high on several online sites.

USA

»New York Times«: »According to initial forecasts on Sunday, the Alternative for Germany party is likely to come in first in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany, opening up the possibility that the extreme right could take power in part of the country for the first time since the end of the Nazi era. ... This increase was almost entirely at the expense of the Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who are by far the biggest losers this evening in terms of vote share."

Great Britain

»The Telegraph«: »Anti-migrant AfD is heading for an overwhelming election victory in East Germany.«

BBC: »Since the Second World War, no far-right party has ever taken control of a federal state in Germany. Participation in government at the state level would entail responsibilities for the police as well as for education and culture.

“Financial Times”: “According to forecasts, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be the strongest force in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. This would be a breakthrough for the far right party and at the same time a serious electoral setback for Germany's established political parties.

»The Times«: »If the projections are confirmed, the result would be a personal humiliation for Friedrich Merz, who had been advised to avoid the election campaign almost entirely - for fear that his personal unpopularity could give the AfD a boost. The CDU's share of the vote has halved compared to the result in the last state election in Saxony-Anhalt in 2021; At that time they were barely able to fend off the AfD.”

Belgium

»De Tijd«: »The result – the best for the anti-immigration party since its founding in 2013 – is a bitter setback for the CDU under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The AfD has benefited from frustration over a weakening economy and rising energy prices by taking up social grievances and calling for stopping migration, halting climate protection measures and restoring relations with Russia.

Netherlands

»de Volkskrant«: »If the AfD misses an absolute majority, forming a government will be very difficult. The CDU would then have to form a minority government with the SPD and the Greens. However, on important issues it would be dependent on the support of the radical left and possibly that of the BSW. This is an extremely sensitive issue within the CDU. The question also arises as to whether CDU Prime Minister and top candidate Sven Schulze will politically survive this election result.

Italy

»La Repubblica«: »The polling stations closed at 6 p.m. in the elections for the state parliament of the poorest and at the same time oldest federal state in the country. The Alternative for Germany is ahead by a large margin: if it succeeds in governing alone, it would be the first right-wing extremist government in Germany since 1945.

»La Stampa«: »It is the best result ever for the sovereigntists in a German federal state, paving the way for the first right-wing extremist government in the country since 1945 and crowning the success of the local party leader Ulrich Siegmund.«

Spain

»La Vanguardia«: »The right-wing extremist AfD shook up the German political landscape on Sunday with a record victory in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. According to initial ZDF forecasts, she received 44 percent of the votes. The CDU ended up far behind in second place with 18.5 percent.

Portugal

»Público«: »Elections in Saxony-Anhalt: post-election surveys predict AfD 44 percent. The numbers do not yet allow us to determine whether the AfD could actually govern the country, but Alice Weidel has already said that the party has a mandate to lead the executive branch.

Norway

NRK: »AfD is heading for a clear victory in the German state. For the first time since the Second World War, a far-right party could come to power in a German state.

Brazil

"Folha de São Paulo": "Extreme right is leading in state elections in Germany and, according to forecasts, could come back to power after almost a century," is the headline of the newspaper. "The election of Siegmund, who ran a populist election campaign on TikTok and awakened emotional memories of the former GDR, would be an unprecedented event in Germany since the Second World War."