Merkel calls for a fight for democracy ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt election

A week before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, former Chancellor Angela Merkel called for people to stand up for democracy. "I think we now have to really fight for this democracy again, which we haven't had to do for many decades, and just stand up and be a little brave and keep our word and say that this is a great way to live," said the CDU politician at an event in Berlin.

The CDU politician emphasized that the majority of people do not vote for the AfD. However, it is true that the AfD is very strong in the new federal states and has also become stronger in the old federal states. The AfD has developed into a pan-German phenomenon, said Merkel. For example, the party also made gains in the state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

With a view to the election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt, Merkel said that the AfD had partly managed to "dominate all of our conversations from morning to evening." We no longer know what the other parties actually want.

AfD in Saxony-Anhalt “secures right-wing extremist”

A new state parliament will be elected in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th. The AfD is clearly ahead in polls for the state elections. The party has been classified by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt as a “certain right-wing extremist effort” since 2023. Suspected cases in which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution can say with certainty that they are unconstitutional are classified as “certain extremist endeavors”. The AfD regional association in Saxony-Anhalt therefore does not support the free-democratic basic order.

According to current polls, the AfD is in first place with more than 41 percent. The CDU comes far behind at 22.6 percent, the Left at 12.5, followed by the SPD at 7.5 percent. The Greens are only just above the five percent threshold at 5.3 percent, the BSW and FDP are both between three and four percent and would not enter the state parliament.

Merkel was Chancellor from 2005 to 2021. She grew up in the GDR and was the first woman and the first person socialized in the GDR to hold the office.