AfD Wins Saxony-Anhalt With 43.8%, Threatening Germany’s First Far-Right State Rule Since WWII
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
AfD Wins Saxony-Anhalt With 43.8%, Threatening Germany’s First Far-Right State Rule Since WWII
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Summary
43.8% of voters backed AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, giving the anti-immigrant party more than twice the support of its nearest rival and a path to become Germany’s first far-right state government since World War II.
Record turnout — the highest in any German regional election since reunification in 1990 — underscored that the result was not just a protest blip but a broad mobilization behind AfD.
Friedrich Merz now faces rising pressure on his right flank, with the upset casting the chancellor’s authority into doubt ahead of more regional elections later this month.
Germany’s long-standing firewall against extremist parties now faces a sharper test: whether keeping AfD from power protects democracy or deepens voter anger at the political mainstream.