Behind his smile and his ease on social networks, Ulrich Siegmund is pursuing a historic objective: to become the first post-war far-right leader at the head of a German region. The candidate of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party is well ahead of the voting intentions in the Land of Saxony-Anhalt, whose voters are called to the polls on Sunday September 6. According to the latest poll by the public channel ZDF, the anti-migrant, Russophile and pro-Trump party received 41% of the vote – almost double its 2021 score.
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Propelled in mid-August to the front page of the prestigious weekly Der Spiegel with the title of "the most dangerous man in Germany", Ulrich Siegmund is aiming for the leadership of this regional state of the former GDR. But the AfD is however not guaranteed to obtain the absolute majority which would allow it to take the reins of this region of 2.1 million inhabitants. Everything depends in particular on the number of parties which will enter the regional Parliament: in the event of environmentalists and social democrats passing above the 5% threshold required to join Parliament, the far right would be deprived of an absolute majority.
Nostalgia as a political argument
In his stronghold of Tangermünde, a town of around 10,000 inhabitants, the candidate arrived at the polling station on Sunday morning with his wife Julia on a Simson, an iconic moped from the former East Germany, the sky blue color of the AfD. This symbolic two-wheeler was regularly ridden by the far-right candidate during his campaign.
Born three weeks after Germany's reunification in 1990, the 35-year-old witnessed the growing idealization of the GDR among his fellow citizens in the east. The former flag of communist Germany is sometimes even flown at its rallies: older voters associate the communist regime with security, a key theme of Alternative für Deutschland. An “Ostalgia” – contraction of “Ost” (is in German) and “nostalgia” – which Ulrich Siegmund knows how to use.
This member of the AfD capitalizes in particular on the feeling of injustice of his voters, according to Jeanette Süß, political analyst on Franco-German relations at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri). Its supporters consider themselves treated as second-class citizens by their compatriots in the West, considered to be privileged. “People talk about 'decline', there is a fear of downgrading” in Saxony-Anhalt, observes Jeanette Süß. Faced with this feeling, Ulrich Siegmund focuses his attacks on immigrants, whom he accuses of wanting to "take advantage" of the Germans.
A social media star since Covid-19
For weeks, Ulrich Sigmund scoured his native region, taking selfies and autographs on mugs and t-shirts bearing his image. This columnist has more than 600,000 subscribers on Instagram and more than 800,000 on TikTok. His main opponent, the conservative Sven Schulze, has a little over 12,000 and 4,000 respectively. “Ulrich Siegmund communicates very well, with a smile and an engaging manner. He is very appreciated,” observes Valérie Dubslaff, teacher-researcher at Rennes 2 University.
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This former member of the conservative party, who joined the AfD in 2014, a year after its creation, was propelled to the forefront during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Der Spiegel. Spokesperson for the parliamentary group for health issues, he took advantage of the health crisis through videos denouncing the “panic around the pandemic”. He thus “quickly became one of the most followed political leaders on TikTok. After the following elections, he took the lead of his group in Parliament, before becoming head of the list”, recounts the German daily.
Former neo-Nazis in his entourage
Beyond his success on social networks, Ulrich Sigmund is surrounded by members of a former neo-Nazi organization, the Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend, reports Der Spiegel. This small group was banned in 2009 because of its "ideological kinship with National Socialism, in particular with the former Hitler Youth", it is explained on the website of the German Interior Ministry.
Concretely, this movement sought to "recruit new generations of activists and form an elite sharing a vision (...) based on an ethno-nationalist conception of the people", in particular by teaching "racial science" to children, recalls the German government. Its magazine called Funkenflug also contained texts that were “anti-Semitic and glorifying Nazism,” according to the ministry.
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In November 2023, Ulrich Sigmund also participated in a secret meeting between political figures from the AfD, neo-Nazis and businessmen, the media Correctiv revealed in January 2024. The subject of this interview was "remigration", a project for the mass expulsion of foreigners and Germans of foreign origin.
A desire to review the school program
If he comes to power, Ulrich Sigmund intends to implement measures that would mark a historic break with the political and cultural heritage of post-war Germany. “From the first minute” of taking office, he wants to expel illegal immigrants from Saxony-Anhalt.
He also wishes to denounce the contract governing the German public audiovisual media which he accuses of being biased, preferring social networks and their algorithms. Champion of the traditional family, he promises to "ban the official display of the rainbow flag (symbol of LGBT+ people) in schools and instead ensure that the national flag flies every school day in public establishments".
As education is the responsibility of the regional states in Germany, he also intends to remove the obligation to attend school, which would in particular open the way to home education. He also plans to modify the history programs in schools, which for his taste are too focused on the guilt of Germany in the Third Reich.
