Key facts
- AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, more than double its previous showing.
- The AfD candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, seeks to form a governing majority.
- The BSW party, which received 5.3% of the vote, has indicated willingness to support an AfD governor.
- Mainstream parties have historically refused to cooperate with the AfD, classifying it as extremist.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has achieved a landslide victory in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, securing 43.8% of the vote. This result poses a significant challenge to Germany's long-standing political 'firewall' that has prevented cooperation with the anti-immigrant, far-right party.
AfD's candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, aims to become the first far-right head of a state government since World War II. While Siegmund has rejected an AfD minority government, his party might be able to govern with the hard-left BSW party, which garnered 5.3% of the vote. BSW's lead candidate, Thomas Schulze, has expressed willingness to help an AfD governor take office, citing shared views on Russia and immigration.
Political analyst Volker Resing noted that the BSW party could play a decisive role in determining the future of Saxony-Anhalt and potentially help AfD overcome the firewall. Forming a government that excludes AfD would require an unusual and potentially unstable coalition of all other elected parties: CDU, Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Left Party, in addition to BSW. There is also a possibility of lawmakers from other parties defecting to AfD to secure a majority.