A warning signal for democracies

Some elections become symbols of a change of era. The overwhelming victory of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt may be one of them, signaling that the far right has established itself as a central political force in the heart of the European Union.

AfD won 43.8% of the vote on Sunday and took 39 seats in the regional parliament, more than double its previous result. It came close to an absolute majority. If it receives support from the anti-immigration left-wing Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, it could lead a German state government for the first time since 1945.

The result cannot be dismissed because Saxony-Anhalt has only 2.1 million residents. Germany’s history and its efforts to confront the crimes of its past have not made the country immune to exclusionary and xenophobic ideas. AfD is already leading national opinion polls ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, making Merz one of the major losers of the election.

The party’s radicalism has even prompted forces in the same political orbit, including Marine Le Pen’s party, to distance themselves. Some AfD leaders connect directly with movements seeking to relativize National Socialism or proposing exclusionary measures that conflict with Germany’s 1949 Basic Law.

The editorial attributes AfD’s consolidation to factors also seen elsewhere, including the divide between dynamic metropolitan areas and rural regions and the perception of immigration as a threat. It also points to the particular legacy of the former East Germany, where many people feel like second-class citizens. Economic stagnation, industrial decline and falling purchasing power have reinforced the party’s appeal, alongside Germany’s loss of cheap Russian energy, weaker export access to China and uncertainty over future U.S. protection.