Full story
AfD near power
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is poised to win power in Saxony-Anhalt’s regional election on Sept. 6, with Reuters saying the AfD has been leading in polls with support regularly putting it over 40%.
“The eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt holds an election on Sunday that could see the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party win power”
Reuters reported that the outcome for AfD’s main candidate Ulrich Siegmund depends on whether enough other parties opposed to the far-right gain enough votes to enter parliament, with the minimum threshold set at 5%.
DW described Saxony-Anhalt as a state of 2.1 million people and said the AfD could become head of a state government for the first time in postwar German history, with lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund holding a clear lead in opinion polls.
DW said the state office for the protection of the constitution has classified the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" organization, and that the AfD is polling at more than 40% in Saxony-Anhalt just before the election.
Power, intelligence, and coalitions
German leaders are exploring ways to curb the AfD’s power if it wins control of a state government, including attempts to throttle routine sharing of certain classified information with state-level intelligence services.
The New York Times said the planning is driven partly out of fear that AfD officials could pass national secrets to Russia, to which the party maintains close ties.
Reuters said all the main parties have said they will not enter a coalition with the AfD, meaning the sitting Christian Democrat state premier Sven Schulze may seek to build a coalition of his own or form a minority government under some form of cooperation agreement with other parties.
Reuters also reported that if the AfD’s support level remains unchanged until the election on September 6, it would probably leave the AfD just shy of an absolute majority of seats in state parliament, with the result depending on whether smaller parties clear the 5% entry threshold.
Stakes for migrants and Europe
The Guardian framed the stakes for migrants in Saxony-Anhalt through the fear of deportations, quoting Fatemeh, 44, saying, "They might send us back to Iran."
“"They might send us back to Iran,"”
The Guardian also reported that polls suggest the election on Sunday could yield Germany’s first-ever state government led by the far-right AfD, shattering a postwar taboo and leaving Fatemeh and her son’s fate in the hands of a party that has promised to launch deportations "from day one".
Reuters said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that an AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt would damage the eastern state and deter foreign companies from investing there, adding, "The state will suffer considerable damage if things turn out as we now fear they might."
In the same Reuters report, Merz said, "I cannot imagine international investors attending a ground-breaking ceremony with an AfD Minister-President to set up new plants and establish new businesses in Saxony-Anhalt," linking the election outcome to investment decisions.