Merz’s CDU suffers historic defeat as AfD falls short of outright majority
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) swept to a record victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its vote and inflicting a bruising defeat on Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives.
The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, according to preliminary final results, its strongest performance in any German state election. The Christian Democratic Union fell to a historic low of 17.2%, down from 37.1% in 2021.
“We have made history,” said Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s candidate for state premier, as the scale of the victory became clear. Siegmund appealed to members of the CDU to dismantle the ‘firewall’ under which Germany’s mainstream parties refuse to co-operate with the AfD.
“As a democrat, I will always extend a hand to all forces that join us in bringing about a fundamental political turnaround in this country,” he said.
