Thousands of protesters have gathered across Germany following a watershed regional election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany secured nearly 44% of the vote. The historic result has ignited political turmoil for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s federal coalition, drawn international concern, and pushed mainstream parties to confront whether to breach their long-standing political firewall.
A Historic Surge and the Scramble for Power in Saxony-Anhalt
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) captured nearly 44% of the vote in the former communist eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, delivering the party its best-ever state result. With that share, the party won 39 of the 83 seats in the state legislature, falling short of an absolute majority, according to Reuters.
Despite winning the most votes, the party fell short of what was needed to govern alone. The AfD is appealing to lawmakers from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives to support its bid to rule the eastern state, in what would be the first time a far-right party takes power at state level in postwar Germany.
The party’s top candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has positioned himself to lead the region, tapping into deep voter fatigue. Many supporters came on their Simson motorcycles, which have become a cultural symbol for the Alternative for Germany party, to meet Ulrich Siegmund in the quiet eastern German town of Quedlinburg. Luca Stemmler, 17, said during the gathering in Quedlinburg: I think Siegmund speaks from his heart, from our hearts. He’s an idol for me. Across the street from the motorcycle rally, counter-protesters waved rainbow flags and sang All You Need Is Love by The Beatles — a show of solidarity against a party some fear will challenge basic human rights.
Experts say the AfD would gain significant political leverage over state resources in areas such as education, where it hopes to achieve goals such as creating separate classrooms for refugees, normalizing relations with Russia through student exchange programs and promoting a patriotism agenda that includes focusing less on the country’s Nazi past.
Protests Erupt in Berlin and Regional Cities as Observers Sound Alarms
As political shockwaves radiated outward, demonstrators flooded public squares across the country. Thousands of Germans staged protests against the far-right Alternative für Deutschland after the party’s watershed victory in a state election, warning it posed a danger in two more polls this month. Demonstrators at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate held a peaceful pro-democracy rally denouncing the anti-immigrant, pro-Russian AfD, which has called for mass deportations of asylum seekers and a rollback of state support for renewable energy and public broadcasting.
Organizers put the Berlin turnout at more than 14,000 people, while police reported 5,000 protesters in a campaign to mobilise voters against the AfD. Posters in the crowd read: Fascism is no alternative
, Stop the Nazi AfD: end racism and cuts to social services
and History has its eyes on us
.
With less than two weeks to election day, demonstrators at the Berlin rally cautioned against resignation and cynicism after the shock result. The AfD’s nearly 44% vote in Saxony-Anhalt, the best for a nativist party since the Nazi period, is a disgrace that makes you furious and stunned
, according to Jens-Christian Wagner, the director of the memorial at the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald.
Merz says result shakes his party to its foundations
Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out working with the Alternative for Germany, but he conceded the result had shaken his party to its very foundations.
Merz stated that he won’t resign or fundamentally change course following the defeat.
Friction Within the Federal Coalition and Upcoming Regional Tests
The electoral earthquake has exposed raw nerves within Berlin’s ruling coalition, creating renewed pressure over the longstanding exclusion of the AfD from office. The result also marked a major setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and a major breakthrough for the AfD, which has built its strongest support in eastern Germany and campaigned on tougher immigration controls, opposition to the political establishment and a more nationalist agenda.
The political stakes will multiply rapidly over the coming weeks as the party maintains clear momentum heading into regional elections in the capital and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on the Baltic coast, on 20 September.
International partners have also added their voices to the unfolding crisis. France and Poland expressed concern about the result in Saxony-Anhalt, underlining the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggering alarm among Germany’s neighbours and elsewhere as far-right leaders from Portugal to Austria celebrated the win.
