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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

AfD in Saxony-Anhalt: What Would Happen if the Party Took Over a State?

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Ulrich Siegmund is leading the AfD into Saxony-Anhalt’s state election, with the party well ahead in opinion polls.
  • An AfD victory would give a party whose state branch is classified as confirmed far-right extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency its first state government.
  • The party’s program includes ending the constitutional right to asylum and school inclusion, while economists estimate its pledges would leave an annual funding gap of at least 2.2 billion euros.

Ulrich Siegmund rides a moped, takes selfies and smiles often. At 35, the politician from Tangermünde is leading the AfD into Saxony-Anhalt’s state election, where the party is far ahead in the polls.

If the AfD wins, Germany would see a first: a state government led by a party whose regional branch the domestic intelligence service classifies as confirmed far-right extremist. Siegmund’s plans appear in a document the AfD calls a government program rather than an election program.

The proposals include abolishing the constitutional right to asylum, ending church asylum and stopping inclusion in schools. The party also promises free childcare and a payment of 2,000 euros for every newborn, but only when at least one parent holds a German passport.

Other pledges face legal and financial obstacles. Siegmund wants to terminate the interstate broadcasting agreement “on day one,” but the MDR could not legally be shut down before 2029, and residents would still have to pay the broadcasting fee. The Halle Institute for Economic Research calculated that the AfD’s promises leave a funding gap of at least 2.2 billion euros a year.

The podcast also asks why these proposals resonate, and what an AfD-led state government could mean for migrants. According to a survey by the migrant network Lamsa, 80 percent of migrants said they would leave if the AfD took power. Constanze Kainz discusses the issue with Christian Fuchs, an investigative reporter at Die Zeit, in the 147th episode of “What Now? The Week.”

on day one

· Ulrich SiegmundHis pledge to terminate the interstate broadcasting agreement immediately if the AfD enters government.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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