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<\/a><\/p>\nA banner reading ‘Stop AfD Nazis’ is seen during a demonstration against the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Berlin on Sept. 7, 2026. (Emmanuele Contini\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won 43.8% of the vote in an election in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, crushing the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s party, which held 17.2% support, according to preliminary figures. <\/p>\n
The AfD is now heading toward 39 seats in Saxony-Anhalt\u2019s 83-seat state parliament. It\u2019s expected to fall 3 seats short of an outright majority, leaving open the question of whether it can form Germany\u2019s first far-right state government since World War II. The party has proposed a sweeping nationalist agenda that includes deporting immigrants, defunding \u201canti-German art\u201d and teaching children less about the country\u2019s Nazi past.<\/p>\n
Merz told reporters in Berlin on Monday he was \u201cdeeply shocked\u201d and \u201cunsettled\u201d by the results, which he said rippled through the rest of the country and the world. He added that it was impossible for Germany to \u201cgo back to business as usual\u201d after so many voters in Saxony-Anhalt chose a party that \u201cquestions the democratic institutions in our country.\u201d <\/p>\n
The results dealt the CDU its \u201cmost severe defeat\u201d in decades, conceded Merz, who leads the party once headed by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. <\/p>\n
Merz said that he was searching for answers to \u201cwhy far-right populism and far-right extremism was able to rise in such a rapid manner,\u201d suggesting that his party may have underestimated the \u201cfears of our population\u201d amid economic crises and rapid technological change. He said that minorities in Saxony-Anhalt would be particularly vulnerable under an AfD government, but noted that the state would still have obligations to follow federal law, including regarding immigration policy. <\/p>\n
Merz also directed his message to the rest of Europe, saying that Germany had a \u201cspecial responsibility because of its history\u201d to keep its political order \u201cdeeply anchored in Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite the scale of the CDU\u2019s defeat in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz ruled out stepping down, saying, \u201cGiving up is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Saxony-Anhalt is one of Germany\u2019s smallest regions, home to some 1.7 million voters, its election results quickly sent shockwaves through other European countries whose leaders, like Merz, are fighting to fend off far-right, anti-immigrant parties in national elections next year.<\/p>\n
French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad called the AfD\u2019s regional win a \u201cgrave moment in Europe\u201d and said that \u201cnationalism and xenophobia will never be a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot forget our history,\u201d said Haddad, an ally of centrist President Emmanuel Macron. \u201cThat is the meaning of the choices made by France and Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n
France\u2019s government faces its own fears of a right-wing populist wave. Marine Le Pen, the head of the far-right National Rally, has dwarfed all other candidates in polls heading into France\u2019s presidential election in 2027, when term limits force Macron to step down. <\/p>\n
Across the Channel, British Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said in an interview on Times Radio that the U.K.\u2019s Labour government \u201cwill not be reaching out to a right-wing populist party.\u201d She added that she put the AfD in \u201cthe same political bracket\u201d as Reform UK, the far-right party that surged in local elections earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also condemned the AfD\u2019s victory. The far-right party has alarmed Poland, Ukraine\u2019s neighbor, with its pro-Russia stance, as it seeks to halt Germany\u2019s military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn Poland, only idiots or traitors can rejoice at the triumph of the AfD in Germany,\u201d said Tusk. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the AfD was cheered by nationalist, anti-immigration party leaders in Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, all of whom have sought to capitalize on economic and social grievances similar to those that contributed to the AfD\u2019s victory Sunday.<\/p>\n
Santiago Abascal, the head of Spain\u2019s far-right Vox party, called the result \u201ca great hope for Germany and for Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n
Andr\u00e9 Ventura, the founder of Portugal\u2019s far-right Chega party, said that \u201cthe Germans too are opening their eyes against illegal and uncontrolled immigration, corruption, and the capture of our freedom and identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in the Netherlands, the AfD received a \u201cCongratulations\u201d from the far-right Party for Freedom\u2019s leader, Geert Wilders.<\/p>\n
While President Donald Trump has yet to officially respond to the Saxony-Anhalt election, he posted a screenshot of the results without comment on his Truth Social account Sunday night. <\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s post was shared by Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian presidential envoy and businessman, who said the AfD scored a \u201chistoric win\u201d that would \u201cput migration under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elon Musk, the billionaire and former Trump adviser who campaigned for the AfD last year, gave his support to the national party leader Alice Weidel on X, which he owns, writing \u201cWell done\u201d in German.<\/p>\n
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD\u2019s candidate in Saxony-Anhalt who hopes to become the state premier, responded by praising Musk. <\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, @elonmusk, for your support and for your clear and highly important perspective on the political developments of our time \u2014 including here in Germany,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n