‘A sensation in Germany’: DW journalist calls AfD regional victory a ‘radical change’

Srecko Matic, a Deutsche Welle correspondent, called the AfD’s regional election victory in Saxony-Anhalt a “sensation.” He said Germany had never experienced such a radical political shift in a single election night.

The Alternative for Germany won 44.5% of the vote, according to exit polls, nearly 24 percentage points more than it received in the 2021 election. Matic described it as the first far-right party since the Second World War to achieve such a result.

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A sensation.

The Christian Democratic Union received 18.5%, its lowest result in the state and nearly 19 points below its previous showing, when it won decisively. The Greens took 8.9%, their best result in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. The Left won 8.6%, the Social Democrats remained below 10% at 9.3%, and the Free Democrats failed to clear the 5% threshold. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance narrowly entered the state parliament with 5.3% after a tense election night.

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It is as if, with one stroke, everything from the last 20 years was erased and a new electoral story was written overnight. Never in Germany has a single election brought such a radical change to the political scene.

Matic said the election could have consequences at the federal level and reflected frustration with Germany’s federal government and the country’s crisis. He said some voters supported the right-wing party because they believed it could solve their existential problems.

He also described the result as dangerous for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying his position had been seriously shaken the day after the election and questioning whether he would complete his full term. The political arithmetic could become more complicated because the left-wing populist BSW may help AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund become state premier by abstaining in the third round of voting. Although the parties are ideologically opposed, they share opposition to sanctions against Russia, criticism of migration policy, Euroscepticism and resistance to the European Union’s green policies.

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His chair was seriously shaken the day after the election.