A State in Germany Could Soon Have Far-Right Leaders. Here’s What to Know.

 

A State in Germany Could Soon Have Far-Right Leaders. Here’s What to Know.

 

Elections in Saxony-Anhalt, in the country’s east, could result in an outright majority for the Alternative for Germany party.

 

Jim Tankersley

By Jim Tankersley

Reporting from Berlin

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/world/europe/germany-election-afd-saxony-anhalt.html

Sept. 6, 2026, 12:01 a.m. ET

 

The state of Saxony-Anhalt, in eastern Germany, is holding elections on Sunday that could produce the first far-right state government in the country since the end of the Nazi era.

 

Polls suggest that the Alternative for Germany, a far-right party known by its German initials AfD, will comfortably finish first. The party has appealed to voters with promises to revitalize a sagging economy, deport immigrants and sideline mainstream parties that have long governed the state.

 

The crucial question is whether the AfD’s share of the vote will be enough to allow the party to govern without the help of rival parties, which say they will refuse to join any coalition with the far right.

 

The result will reverberate through the national Parliament in Berlin, where the AfD is the largest opposition group to the governing coalition of center-right and center-left parties. The outcome could also offer lessons about the strength of populist movements around the world.

 

Polls close at 6 p.m. in Germany (noon Eastern). Here’s what to know.

 

What is Saxony-Anhalt?

The state, a relatively small area in the former East Germany, to the west of Berlin, has about 2.1 million residents. Saxony-Anhalt has struggled since German reunification in 1990. The state lost more of its population than any other, and the unemployment rate is well above the national average, at roughly 8 percent. The current leader is Sven Schulze of the center-right Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

 

What is the AfD?

The Alternative for Germany is a far-right populist party that formed in 2013. It was initially focused on opposing Germany’s adoption of the euro, the European single currency. The party has since ridden a wave of anger at immigration from the Middle East and exploited anxiety over economic stagnation to top national polls in Germany.

 

The AfD remains a pariah among Germany’s political establishment, however. No other major rival will work with the party to form a government at either state or national level. German intelligence has designated the AfD a “suspected extremist” group.

 

Some of the party’s leaders have played down the Holocaust and adopted Nazi slogans. Others have strong ties to Russia. The party has also said that Islam is incompatible with the German Constitution and has vowed mass deportations of immigrants — leading opponents to accuse the party of treating Germans from migrant backgrounds as second-class citizens.

 

Why is the AfD leading this race?

Foremost, a frustrated electorate is looking to shake up Germany’s political system.

 

The party’s supporters, particularly in eastern states like Saxony-Anhalt, call the AfD their best chance to break centrist parties’ hold on political power in postwar Germany. The AfD has courted voters in Saxony-Anhalt with policies including paring back social assistance for immigrants and increasing financial support for native-born German families with a father and a mother.

 

The party has deployed a savvy social media campaign and has a relatively young and photogenic candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, who is a TikTok star.

 

What would an AfD state government mean for Germany?

Symbolically, a majority victory for the party in Saxony-Anhalt would be an earthquake for a postwar political system that was intended to foster moderation and compromise, and to prevent parties deemed extreme from returning to power. Such a result could jeopardize the standing of Mr. Merz, who would have to fend off critics in his own coalition blaming him for the loss. A big win might also help to normalize the AfD, spurring some mainstream lawmakers to feel more comfortable about forming coalitions with the party.

 

Practically, an AfD administration would set off an immediate fight about whether federal and other state intelligence services continue to share sensitive information with the Saxony-Anhalt government, as is now common practice. Germany’s defense minister has said he would seek to stop the practice, saying the AfD is too close to Russia.

 

What’s likely to happen?

The simplest scenario would be an outright AfD victory with the party winning enough seats to govern alone. It would not necessarily need 50 percent of the vote because some parties are likely to collect some votes, but too few to win seats. Polls suggest that a win with an outright majority for the AfD is possible, but perhaps not the most probable outcome.

 

If the AfD falls short, other parties will try to band together to form a government. That won’t be easy. The Christian Democrats are likely to finish second and take the lead in negotiations, but some of their members refuse to work with the far-left Die Linke, which appears set to finish third, because they consider that party to be extremist, too.

 

If those parties can’t work out their differences, the AfD might get a chance to peel off rebel members of those parties and perhaps govern after all.

 

When will we know?

Vote counting should proceed quickly after the polls close. It might be clear in a few hours whether the AfD has the necessary votes to form a government alone. If not, the other parties may take weeks to negotiate the formation of an alternative coalition government.

 

Christopher F. Schuetze and Tatiana Firsova contributed reporting.

 

Jim Tankersley is the Berlin bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.