The far-right Alternative for Germany scored its best-ever result in a state election on Sunday amid growing public discontent with the political establishment, delivering a powerful blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the country’s political establishment.
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Alternative → score → Merz
The AfD secured 44 per cent of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its support and putting it ahead of the long-governing Christian Democratic Union, whose backing collapsed to 17.5 per cent, according to a projection broadcast by ARD.
uncertain
backing → secure → ARD
That would leave the AfD only three seats short of an outright majority in the state legislature.
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That → leave → legislature
The victory amounts to one of the biggest challenges yet to the parties that have governed the federal republic since the aftermath of World War II.
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that → amount → II
Merz, who kept well away from voters on the campaign trail, will have to grapple with the fallout after his CDU performed worse than expected amid sluggish economic growth and rising energy prices.
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CDU → keep → growth
The AfD, parts of which are considered by German domestic intelligence as a right-wing threat to the constitutional order, has capitalized on the frustration, tapping into public grievances with its call to halt migration, end efforts to tackle climate change and restore relations with Russia.
“This is the foundation — this is the basis on which the first AfD-led government in Germany will thrive, here in Saxony-Anhalt and then throughout Germany,” the AfD’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, told supporters at party headquarters in the state capital Magdeburg.
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candidate → consider → capital
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said the party will reach out to potential partners, including disaffected lawmakers from the CDU, to assemble a government.
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party → say → government
Short of an outright AfD majority, any coalition building has the potential to run into deadlock.
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building → have → deadlock
Others entering parliament are the Social Democrats with 9.2 per cent, the Greens at 8.9 per cent and the anti-capitalist Left party with 8.6 per cent.
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Others → enter → cent
BSW, a breakaway party founded by former Left leader Sahra Wagenknecht, also cleared the five per cent threshold to win seats, the projection showed.
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projection → found → seats
CDU state premier Sven Schulze said that state voters “sent a signal,” though the party has repeatedly said it won’t work with the AfD.
“Some say this is a dark day for Saxony-Anhalt,” Schulze told party members.
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Schulze → say → members
“I say that this is democracy.”
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this → say → ?
Saxony-Anhalt, which has the lowest GDP per capita of Germany’s 16 states, has a population of around two million.
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which → have → million
Since Germany reunified, the region has seen its population decline more sharply than any other state, with the number of inhabitants having fallen by more than a quarter between 1990 and 2024.
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number → reunify → 1990
During a rush of campaigning ahead of the vote, Siegmund drew thousands to festival-like events, where supporters clamoured for autographs and selfies.
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supporters → campaign → autographs
It was a clear demonstration of the party’s growing support — and a contrast with Merz, who made two appearances in the state that involved statements to reporters.
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that → grow → reporters
Siegmund has said that if he fails to gain the necessary majority to lead the state as premier, he would wait out the political chaos that he said would ensue if the CDU formed a government, which he predicted would last “a few months.”
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he → say → government
The AfD will simply gain more in the next election, he told Bloomberg: “We can only win.”
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We → gain → Bloomberg
Merz has warned that the AfD would send Germany “into the abyss.”
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AfD → warn → abyss
Business leaders have warned of deterring investment.
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leaders → warn → investment
Domestic counterintelligence has categorized elements of the party as a threat to democratic institutions, placing them under increased surveillance.
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counterintelligence → categorize → surveillance
But the party has continued to gain public support.
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party → continue → support
In Saxony-Anhalt, its leaders have discussed plans to set up a state-funded “deportation task force,” to purge the ranks of civil servants — and to overhaul the education system to expunge it of “left-wing indoctrination.”
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leaders → discuss → indoctrination
Even as its popularity has grown, the party has coalesced around an ethno-nationalist ideology and shed much of its more moderate language, according to Germany’s federal counterintelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
uncertain
party → grow → Constitution
In its annual report issued in June, it said an increased number of party officials have openly adopted the concept of “remigration,” or large-scale expulsions.
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number → issue → remigration
That has isolated it in Europe, even among far-right peers.
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That → isolate → peers
France’s Marine Le Pen ended cooperation with the party in 2024 after an AfD lawmaker said in an interview that not every Nazi SS member should be considered a criminal.
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member → end → interview
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy has embraced transatlantic ties, has kept her distance given the AfD’s closeness to Russia.
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Brothers → embrace → Russia
The Aporia
