Key facts
- Elon Musk publicly supported the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt.
- Donald Trump shared the election result on his Truth Social platform without commentary.
- AfD's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, thanked Elon Musk for his support.
- The AfD secured 39 lawmakers in the 83-member Saxony-Anhalt legislature, falling short of a majority.
- The AfD advocates for policies including remigration and deportation, banning rainbow flags in schools, and halting wind farm construction.
Elon Musk publicly applauded the Alternative für Deutschland's (AfD) strong performance in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, while U.S. President Donald Trump shared the result on his Truth Social platform without comment. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's lead candidate in the election, thanked Musk on X for his support.
The populist, far-right, anti-immigration AfD won the vote in the eastern German state, capitalizing on nostalgia for communist East Germany and discontent among its residents. The party has pledged a remigration and deportation offensive, to ban rainbow flags in schools, and halt new wind farm construction. It also proposed changing the state's slogan from "Think Modern" to "Think German" and reintroducing the singing of the national anthem in schools.
Despite its victory, the AfD secured 39 lawmakers in the 83-member legislature, falling three seats short of the absolute majority needed to govern alone and overcome the established parties' refusal to cooperate with them.
In response to Trump's post, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised the outcome as a "historic win for the pragmatic AfD." The AfD generally holds pro-Kremlin views, advocating for an end to support for Ukraine and questioning refugee status for Ukrainians in Germany.