AfD triumph in Saxony-Anhalt: divided reactions in Italian politics

The far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland would have obtained 44.4% in Saxony-Anhalt. Italian politics is divided, starting with the deputy prime ministers. For the leader of the League it is "a success that highlights the need for change". For the national secretary of Forza Italia "it is the affirmation of a political force that is antithetical to liberal and Western values"

In Germany, the far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland triumphed in Saxony-Anhalt, obtaining, according to the latest projections, 44.4%. The result of the German candidate Ulrich Siegmund was welcomed by Italian politics with different reactions, starting from the two deputy prime ministers who expressed opposing opinions. For Matteo Salvini it is a "sensational triumph", while Antonio Tajani is less satisfied and considers the outcome of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt to be "very bad news".

Matteo Salvini: “Another Europe is possible”

Matteo Salvini congratulated "his friend Alice Weidel" and the entire AfD "for the triumph in Saxony-Anhalt! A sensational success, which highlights the strong demand for change, security and work. In the face of those on the left who fueled fears and catastrophic scenarios". "Fear? Terror? Danger? No, it's called Democracy. Another Europe is possible", he added

Antonio Tajani: “Now countermeasures”

“The outcome of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt is the affirmation of a political force that is antithetical to the liberal and Western values in which Forza Italia recognizes itself and it is very bad news which we hope is a local exception,” declared the Foreign Minister and national secretary of Forza Italia, Antonio Tajani. “The choice of voters must always be respected, but this does not prevent us from working to implement all the countermeasures and political initiatives necessary to prevent any populist and fanatical drift from spreading in Europe,” he added. For the Foreign Minister, the one in Saxony-Anhalt is "certainly a painful result, which also forces us to register and understand the fears of many Europeans and which for the umpteenth time calls the European Union, starting from its institutional leaders, to take note: the path of community integration is not an automatism, the Western values of freedom, solidarity, repudiation of any siren of autocracies do not represent a definitive achievement but an objective that must be preserved and pursued day by day after day."

Roberto Vannacci: “Merz has an ulcer”

On Facebool, the leader of Futuro Nazionale Roberto Vannacci wrote: "Europe is changing. In Saxony AfD given 44.5% by exit polls. Merz has an ulcer. Monti will have to dedicate his limited energy to them too. Let no one sleep."

Emanuele Loperfido (Fdi): "Historic turnout"

"Very high, historic turnout" in Saxony-Anhalt, "a sign of the population's willingness to still believe that politics, through voting, is the instrument for providing answers to the country's needs", is the comment of FdI deputy Emanuele Loperfido, member of the Italian delegation to the OSCE parliamentary assembly, who limits himself to analyzing the situation. "Obviously we don't go into the merits of citizens' choices, we don't do it in Italy, much less in other countries. Every electoral outcome is respected. When there is a similar result, evidently the majority of residents of Saxony-Anhalt ask for a change of pace", he highlighted.

Laura Boldrini: “Disturbing fact”

From the centre-left, Laura Boldrini, PD deputy and President of the Chamber Permanent Committee on human rights in the world, believes that "an alarming result emerges from the vote in Saxony - Anhalt". According to the former President of the Chamber, "the neo-Nazi AfD party not only establishes itself as the leading political force, but could govern an important Land of a country like Germany which has had and has a central role in European construction. It is the first time that this has happened in Germany after the Second World War: a disturbing fact. For the future of German democracy and of the entire European Union it is absolutely urgent that at a national level the democratic political forces unite to erect a barrier against the danger represented by the neo-Nazi far right and are in capable of providing responses to the social needs and desire for peace of the population".

Angelo Bonelli: “Alarm signal for all of Europe”

Angelo Bonelli, AVS MP and co-spokesperson for Green Europe: "The result of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, with the AfD close to 45% of the vote, is an alarm signal for the whole of Europe, which risks being overwhelmed by nationalism and racial supremacism. A vote that risks turning back the clock of history. This result forces progressive forces to reflect deeply, starting with European policies. We cannot continue to ignore the fight against poverty in popular neighborhoods, precisely those who in Saxony-Anhalt have chosen the AfD en masse, we can continue with a logic of war and rearmament that fuels fear and insecurity in people instead of responding to their real needs. If the left and the progressive forces do not return to dealing with social justice, work, social security in the abandoned neighborhoods, they will leave it to the far right to intercept anger and fear. We need an immediate change of direction."

The reactions of the other parties

Even for Carlo Calenda, leader of Action, "the European Union is at risk. The rise of nationalisms that look to past totalitarianisms are unprecedented in history after the Second World War". Giuseppe Conte finds the roots of the vote in the choices made by Europe itself, which he said was guilty of having "thought about rearmament rather than about social issues". Avs MEP Ilaria Sala believes that there is "bad air" in Germany and, more generally, throughout Europe. "The triumph of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, i.e. of the neo-Nazi far right, is the poisoned fruit of an economic system based on generalized competition which, in moments of crisis, fuels fear and war among the poor, creating fertile ground for fascist phenomena. It is also the result of the historical errors of a left which too often has stuck to the logic of capitalism, giving up fighting it and building an alternative", he wrote on With a broad participation that questions us and slaps us", is the comment of the Democratic Party senator, Filippo Sensi. The secretary of Più Europa Riccardo Magi spoke of "a black cloud" that "is gathering over Europe as demonstrated by the victory of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt with an agenda characterized by xenophobia, nationalist demagoguery and which foments fear and insecurity among citizens".