Overview
- The AfD won about 43.8% of the vote on Sunday and is projected to hold 39 of 83 seats in the Saxony‑Anhalt parliament, leaving it three seats short of an absolute majority.
- AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund has begun outreach to other factions and the newly elected Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — which won 5.3% of the vote — has signalled it could offer tactical support to help an AfD governor take office.
- The centre‑right CDU collapsed to roughly 17%, a loss party leaders and Chancellor Friedrich Merz called crushing, and Merz said he was "deeply shocked," increasing pressure on his leadership and reform agenda.
- Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classifies parts of the AfD as right‑wing extremist, a designation that raises legal and oversight questions about policing, education and state institutions if the party gains executive power.
- The result has drawn alarm from Jewish and Israeli leaders and praise from some foreign populists, it could reshape Germany’s stance on Ukraine and Russia, and upcoming regional votes this month could either reinforce or check the AfD’s momentum.