Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Far-right AfD hails ‘sensational’ results in the Saxony-Anhalt vote
- AfD expected to struggle with coalition building as many parties reject cooperation
- Left-wing populist BSW open to working with AfD on some issues
- Merz’s CDU suffers worst Saxony-Anhalt result since German reunification
Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state held an election on Sunday, September 6. Follow all the developments on Monday, September 7, here.
Skip next section Is Germany’s “political firewall” against the AfD collapsing?09/07/2026September 7, 2026
Is Germany’s “political firewall” against the AfD collapsing?
Germany’s mainstream parties have long maintained a “political firewall” against cooperation with the far-right Alternative for Germany, the AfD. But that firewall is under growing pressure following the AfD’s historic win in the Saxony-Anhalt state election and prospects in other forthcoming state elections.
The term refers to efforts by established parties to prevent the AfD from gaining political influence through cooperation or shared votes. The center-right CDU formally rejected cooperation with the AfD in 2018.
But in January 2025, a CDU motion in the Bundestag passed with AfD support, prompting accusations that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had breached the firewall.
The AfD’s growing electoral strength is now raising fresh questions about how long the firewall can hold and what its future means for Germany’s political center.
Read here for more context: What is the ‘political firewall’ against Germany’s far-right AfD?
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvSISkip next section AfD wins most votes in Saxony-Anhalt, preliminary official results show09/07/2026September 7, 2026
AfD wins most votes in Saxony-Anhalt, preliminary official results show
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 43.8% of the vote in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state election, according to preliminary official results, making it the largest party, but falling short of a governing majority in the regional parliament.
Six parties will be represented in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, which has 83 seats:
- Alternative for Germany (AfD) — 43.8%, 39 seats
- Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — 17.2%, 15 seats
- Social Democratic Party (SPD) — 9.3%, 8 seats
- Green Party — 8.9%, 8 seats
- Left Party — 8.6%, 8 seats
- Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — 5.3%, 5 seats
Meanwhile, the business-focused Free Democrats (FDP) secured only 2.6% of the vote, failing to reach the 5% threshold.
According to the preliminary results, turnout was almost 78%, the highest in Saxony-Anhalt since German reunification in 1990.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvQgSkip next section WATCH: “Migration alone no longer explains the party’s rise”09/07/2026September 7, 2026
WATCH: “Migration alone no longer explains the party’s rise”
Historian Katja Hoyer says the AfD’s breakthrough was fueled by a more upbeat campaign around Ulrich Siegmund, while mainstream parties struggled to offer a positive vision of change.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5LvS6Skip next section CDU fails to win a single direct mandate in Saxony-Anhalt state election09/07/2026September 7, 2026
CDU fails to win a single direct mandate in Saxony-Anhalt state election
As a major setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right CDU, the party came away empty-handed in the individual constituencies.
The CDU failed to win a single direct mandate in the Saxony-Anhalt state election.
According to preliminary figures from the state election authority, CDU candidates were defeated in all 41 constituencies.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidates prevailed in 38 constituencies, including lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund in Genthin. Candidates from the Left Party won the remaining three constituencies: one in Magdeburg and two in Halle.
In the 2021 state election, the CDU won direct mandates in 40 of the 41 constituencies, while the AfD won one.
In Germany, voters have two votes. The “first vote” determines the winner of a constituency and the direct mandate. The “second vote” determines the distribution of seats among parties in the state parliament.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvS7Skip next section WATCH: DW’s Max Hofmann analyzes what AfD’s win in Saxony-Anhalt means for Germany09/07/2026September 7, 2026
WATCH: DW’s Max Hofmann analyzes what AfD’s win in Saxony-Anhalt means for Germany
The immediate political fallout from the Saxony-Anhalt election results could put pressure on the governing coalition in Berlin over the AfD’s growing popularity.
Germany’s next federal election is scheduled for 2029, and political parties are likely to closely watch how the AfD’s rise shapes the country’s political landscape, says DW Berlin bureau chief Max Hoffmann.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5LvRwSkip next section Is Saxony-Anhalt’s economy really struggling?09/07/2026September 7, 2026
Is Saxony-Anhalt’s economy really struggling?
Dirk Kaufmann
Saxony-Anhalt‘s economy has grown more slowly than Germany’s overall economy in recent years, with lower wages, higher unemployment and economic output per capita at only about three-quarters of the national average.
These challenges have helped fuel support for the far-right AfD, which argues the eastern state has been left behind socially and economically.
Key sectors of the state economy include chemicals, engineering, manufacturing and tourism.
But has the eastern state been left behind as some suggest.
Click here for a closer look at the data that offers some interesting insights.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Lf6bSkip next section Czech parliament speaker congratulates AfD on Saxony-Anhalt result09/07/2026September 7, 2026
Czech parliament speaker congratulates AfD on Saxony-Anhalt result
Tomio Okamura, the far-right president of the Czech parliament’s lower chamber, congratulated the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on its success in the Saxony-Anhalt state election.
According to Okamura, this is the result of the “bad politics” by the “liberal, EU-friendly” parties in Germany.
Okamura’s far-right SPD party is part of the Czech governing coalition.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvQoSkip next section READ: What an AfD government could mean for Saxony-Anhalt09/06/2026September 6, 2026
READ: What an AfD government could mean for Saxony-Anhalt
An AfD-led government could bring major changes to migration, education and social policy in Saxony-Anhalt.
The party wants more deportations, mandatory work for asylum-seekers and cuts to integration programs. It also plans to change school curricula, ban rainbow flags in schools and reduce funding for pro-democracy projects.
Some proposals could face legal limits or fall outside state powers. The AfD also wants closer ties with Russia, although foreign policy is mainly decided at the federal level.
For a closer look at what an AfD-led government could mean for Saxony-Anhalt, read our full analysis here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvQmSkip next section WATCH: CDU’s Schulze concedes defeat as AfD tops vote09/06/2026September 6, 2026
WATCH: CDU’s Schulze concedes defeat as AfD tops vote
“We’re going to have to live with this result,” the CDU’s lead candidate Sven Schulze said after congratulating the AfD on becoming the Saxony-Anhalt’s strongest party.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5Lv6ZSkip next section AfD success ‘serious moment’, French minister says09/06/2026September 6, 2026
AfD success ‘serious moment’, French minister says
The election results of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Saxony-Anhalt state election is a “serious” moment, France‘s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said.
“This is a serious moment in Europe, seeing the far right win in a regional election in Germany,” Haddad posted on his X account.
“We must listen with humility to the anger, the concerns, the fears, and respond to them,” he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LvQiSkip next section WATCH: AfD’s Siegmund vows to ‘take our country back’09/06/2026September 6, 2026
WATCH: AfD’s Siegmund vows to ‘take our country back’
“We have made history,” said Ulrich Siegmund, the lead candidate for the far-right AfD, after the party won around 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5LuzwSkip next section Projected results put BSW in Saxony-Anhalt state parliamentPublished 09/06/2026Published September 6, 2026last updated 09/06/2026last updated September 6, 2026
Projected results put BSW in Saxony-Anhalt state parliament
Dmytro Hubenko Editor
The latest projected results show the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) will get seats in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament.
The left-wing populist party will have five seats and has said it would work with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which picked up 39 seats according to the projected results. The AfD had earlier seemingly ruled out working with the BSW.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which headed previous coalition-led state governments, only managed to get 15 seats, while the socialist Left Party ,the center-left Social Democrats and Greens look set to get 8 seats each.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LteISkip next section ‘Only idiots and traitors’ celebrate AfD’s success in Poland: PM Tusk09/06/2026September 6, 2026
‘Only idiots and traitors’ celebrate AfD’s success in Poland: PM Tusk
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacted to the election results in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt by criticizing those in his country that celebrate the far-right AfD party’s success.
“In Poland, only idiots or traitors can celebrate the AfD’s success,” Tusk wrote in Polish on his X account.
According to Tusk, some of those he means are from Poland’s opposition parties, including the right-wing populist PiS party.
https://p.dw.com/p/5LtoWSkip next section WATCH: AfD celebrates, CDU reels from election setback09/06/2026September 6, 2026
WATCH: AfD celebrates, CDU reels from election setback
The far-right AfD party has achieved a huge victory in the election in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. But it appears it has not got enough votes to take control of the government there.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Lsm4Skip next section AfD’s Siegmund says victory in Saxony-Anhalt will ‘shake all of Germany’09/06/2026September 6, 2026
AfD’s Siegmund says victory in Saxony-Anhalt will ‘shake all of Germany’
The AfD has “written history” with the Saxony-Anhalt result, the party’s lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund told supporters on Sunday evening.
“Our vision for 2026 has come true,” Siegmund said in his victory speech in Magdeburg. “We are going to get our country back, and we are starting with Saxony-Anhalt.”
He said the result would “shake all of Germany” and send a “self-confident signal” across the country.
“The people in this country are giving us their trust. We will not disappoint them,” Siegmund said. “We will not become like these other parties. We are the Alternative for Germany.”
Siegmund also attacked media coverage of his party, saying the AfD had shown that “no matter how much fake news there was about us, we cannot be divided.”
“In other parties you hide the chancellor. In the AfD, we stand together,” he added,
The remark appeared to target the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which kept Chancellor Friedrich Merz largely out of its campaign in Saxony-Anhalt.
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