State election in Saxony-Anhalt: AfD wins, reactions and consequences

The AfD has won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The party is considered right-wing extremist in the state.

Read all the election results in detail here.

AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund is open to a coalition government.

For this live blog we use material from the news agencies dpa, Reuters, AP, AFP, KNA and epd, among others.

Alara Yilmaz

Churches are concerned about “social peace”

According to their own statements, the results of the state elections are of “great concern” to the churches. »This state election has profoundly changed the political situation in Saxony-Anhalt. The country is divided. Our concern is for social peace and the coexistence of people in our federal state," said the bishops of the Protestant and Catholic churches, Friedrich Kramer and Gerhard Feige, as well as the church president of the Evangelical Regional Church, Karsten Georg Wolkenhauer.

According to the clerics, the election results show great dissatisfaction among large parts of the population. Concern also applies to the consequences announced by the AfD that the election results will have for culture and education, community and voluntary work, as well as diakonia and churches. “Even after the election, we churches stand firmly on the side of those who keep a watchful eye on the politics of the AfD,” said Bishop Kramer.

His Catholic counterpart Feige appealed to the AfD to fully respect the constitution of Saxony-Anhalt and the Basic Law and to protect the dignity of all people. “Anyone who wants to take on government responsibility takes responsibility for all the people in our country.”

Katharina Benninghoff

Action alliance wants to change the state parliament on the day of the prime minister election

The day of the prime ministerial election has not yet been set. However, the activists of the Alliance Resist are already calling for protest. Thousands of people are to be mobilized, it was said. »This is our warning: a democratic party that helps fascists come to power is no longer a democratic party. Then their offices and party conferences will also become a legitimate target,” explained Elvan Akdeniz from the Action Alliance.

“Then their offices and party conferences also become a legitimate target.”

Elvan Akdeniz from the Action Alliance Resist

“We cannot trust the CDU and BSW not to elect an AfD prime minister into office and thereby incur historical guilt,” said Akdeniz. The plan is to change the state parliament on the day of the prime minister election.

According to its own information, Opposition is a nationwide alliance with local groups in over 80 cities.

Mathis Gann

SPD parliamentary secretary also sees Chancellor Merz as responsible for the election results

Dirk Wiese, Parliamentary Managing Director of the SPD, expressed clear criticism of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. With his rhetoric, the Chancellor gave the impression that he thinks people who work are "lazy," said Wiese in the ARD morning magazine. This “contributes to great uncertainty.” Wiese described the election results in Saxony-Anhalt as “depressing”.

The SPD politician sees a need for action, particularly with regard to the social reforms initiated by the federal government. Questions such as pensions or care are of great concern to people, said Wiese. “We have to take this up and, as the federal government, find answers that address people’s everyday lives.” When it comes to pensions, people who have done hard work need to be given special support; in care, the people who care for relatives at home.

Alara Yilmaz

Educational organizations care about people with disabilities

The educational organizations that provide professional support for people with disabilities are worried about their future after the AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt. The election result is "a warning signal for people with disabilities and for everyone who is committed to an inclusive society," said the chairman of the Federal Working Group of Vocational Training Centers, Tobias Schmidt. The AfD has “clearly announced the reduction in participation of people with disabilities.”

The vocational training centers train young people with disabilities at 51 locations nationwide. In Saxony-Anhalt there are two vocational training centers in which, according to the federal working group, almost 400 young people are currently being trained. “We clearly warn against discriminating against our participants based on their origin or impairment,” Schmidt continued. "They are the workforce of the future, whether in Saxony-Anhalt or elsewhere." Structures that have been built over decades should not be destroyed. Inclusion is a human right, said Schmidt.

Alara Yilmaz

Spanish and Portuguese right-wing populists congratulate AfD

The leaders of the right-wing populist parties in Spain and Portugal have congratulated the AfD on its election success. "Congratulations, Alice Weidel and Ulrich Siegmund, for this spectacular result, which represents great hope for Germany and Europe," wrote the leader of the Spanish party Vox, Santiago Abascal, on X.

His Portuguese colleague from the Chega party, André Ventura, wrote of a “historic victory” for the AfD. "The Germans are also increasingly opening their eyes to illegal and uncontrolled immigration, corruption and the appropriation of our freedom and identity." Both politicians accompanied their post with a photo of themselves with AfD leader Weidel.

Alara Yilmaz

SPD Vice President Schweitzer wants to talk about the federal government's reform course

The deputy SPD chairman Alexander Schweitzer has spoken out in favor of rethinking the federal government's reform course. “It is absolutely clear that this reform needs to be discussed,” said Schweitzer, referring to the planned pension reforms. The pension commission's proposals would have to be on the table again.

This doesn't just have something to do with the election in Saxony-Anhalt, said Schweitzer. The federal government had “no small share” in the outcome of the election. When asked whether Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas were still the right SPD chairmen, Schweitzer replied: "They are."

Alara Yilmaz

Markus Söder sees election mandate from the AfD

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder described the AfD's election victory as a historic turning point. “This is a real turning point and to a certain extent a break in the era,” said the CSU boss.

He warned his sister party, the CDU, against wanting to govern with “small majorities” and appoint the Prime Minister. "I don't think it would be a promising approach," he told radio station Bayern 2. Reinterpreting the election results is a "difficult thing." “The task clearly lies with the AfD,” said Söder. “This is democracy now, so it’s important to recognize it first.”

Alara Yilmaz

Warken opposes the personnel debate about Merz

Immediately before the CDU leadership's deliberations, Chancellor Minister Nina Warken ruled out the removal of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I think it would be the wrong thing if we asked personnel questions,” said Warken in the ARD morning magazine.

Merz leads a federal government that initiates and implements necessary reforms. Warken ruled out a coalition between the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt and the AfD.

Lino Wimmer

The CDU is facing a fundamental decision, and not just about the firewall

The Christian Democrats' election result was halved compared to the last election, in their former home state of Saxony-Anhalt. Now everything is up for debate: Friedrich Merz as Chancellor. The firewall for the AfD. What happens next for the Union after the election debacle?

ZEIT author Georg Löwisch writes in his essay that the Christian Democrats must return to their roots as a "people's party that is skeptical of the people."

Read here where the CDU took a wrong turn for our author:

Alara Yilmaz

Chrupalla wants to make offers of talks to all parties

AfD federal leader Tino Chrupalla has reiterated his party's claim to want to form a government in Saxony-Anhalt. »The vote is clear. We have a very clear government mandate,” said Chrupalla in the ARD morning magazine.

»We will send offers for talks to all parties. We'll see who will knock our hand away." When asked whether the AfD would also consider new elections given the difficult majority situation, Chrupalla said his party was "prepared for all scenarios."

Alara Yilmaz

According to Thomas Schulze, BSW wants to abstain from the third round of voting

The BSW top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Schulze, has announced that his party's new state parliamentary group would abstain from electing a prime minister in a third round of voting. “We will not take part in a firewall coalition,” said Schulze on Deutschlandfunk.

In the third round of voting, a simple majority in the Magdeburg state parliament is enough to elect a new prime minister. For example, the AfD could get its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund through. But we have to wait to see whether Siegmund will even stand for election as prime minister, said Schulze. He expects the AfD to approach the other parties as the election winner.

At the same time, Schulze said that the BSW wanted to propose a non-partisan candidate for the office of Prime Minister. A person from Saxony-Anhalt will be named “promptly,” he says.

Mathis Gann

What happens next?

A historic election night in Saxony-Anhalt is over. The AfD more than doubled its election result, the CDU more than halved it. However, since there is not enough for an AfD sole government and all coalitions seem unrealistic, many questions remain unanswered.

What majorities does the new Prime Minister need in which ballot rounds? Where could AfD and BSW cooperate? And when does the new state parliament have to meet at the latest?

Here you will find the most important questions and answers after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt:

Alara Yilmaz

Amthor speaks of the “moment of truth” for the AfD

The Minister of State in the Chancellery, Philipp Amthor, sees the AfD as responsible for forming a government in the new state parliament in Magdeburg. “This is the moment of truth for the AfD,” says the CDU politician on Deutschlandfunk. "Now we will have to see whether this party is able to form a government."

He emphasized that the CDU would not work with the AfD. The aim is to ensure that the AfD does not take responsibility. But now a party that has received more than 40 percent must say what it plans to do with Saxony-Anhalt.

With regard to the federal government and SPD demands for a correction to the reform course, Amthor says: "To question the reforms now would be the completely wrong answer to the election results."

Alara Yilmaz

Former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse “stunned” by the election results

Former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse was shocked by the AfD's victory in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. It is insane "that voters are so angry that they vote for a party that is damaging their own future," the former SPD politician told the church-based Cologne internet portal domradio.de.

"The AfD wants to abolish the euro, it wants to throw as many foreigners out of the country as possible, it wants to pursue Putin-friendly policies," said Thierse. All of this is harmful for the future of Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, the AfD's policies are damaging the reputation of the entire Federal Republic.

Sybille Klormann

How can a country become so blue?

Paul Blickle, Dana Hajek and Annick Ehmann analyze for ZEIT that there has not been such a landslide victory for a party whose regional association is classified as right-wing extremist since the Second World War. Anyone who looks at the first-placed parties in the election in Saxony-Anhalt will see above all: blue.

Read here in which cities and among which population groups the AfD performed particularly well: