Overview
- Opinion polls putting the Alternative for Germany at just over 40% make an outright majority in the Saxony‑Anhalt election on Sunday, Sept. 6 a realistic outcome that could let the party govern alone.
- Senior security and defence officials, including the intelligence oversight vice‑chair and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, have urged plans to block AfD ministers from access to sensitive data and are reviewing classified‑information rules.
- The AfD’s campaign platform, called “The Country First,” calls for abolition of the right to asylum, mass deportations, confiscation of migrants’ assets, bans on Antifa, cuts to public broadcasting, and a rollback of renewable energy policies.
- Berlin is preparing legal and constitutional responses, citing Article 37 as a tool to compel state compliance and noting the option to seek court resolution or appoint a federal commissioner if a state government refuses to follow federal law.
- Longstanding east‑west grievances — economic decline, population loss and feelings of political marginalisation in the former GDR — have driven AfD support in Saxony‑Anhalt and could shape national politics if the party converts regional gains into broader momentum.