"It's far from decided." State Premier Sven Schulze likes to repeat his big campaign message over and over again ahead of the impending election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6. His audience, however, rarely responds with enthusiasm.
The German public and international media alike are watching this election closely. Never before has the Alternative for Germany (AfD) — classified by the domestic intelligence agency as "confirmed right-wing extremist" — had a better chance to take over a state government. The party is polling at over 40% compared to Schulze's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at around 23%.
Schulze is hoping the AfD will stay below 50% and so be unable to secure a majority in the state parliament — and, with no other party willing to join it in a coalition, the AfD would be unable to form a government. That would leave it up to Schulze to form a coalition, perhaps with as many as three partners, and remain in office.
"We are fighting for every single voter right now," he told DW on August 7.
CDU's Saxony-Anhalt candidate warns against AfD taking powerTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
