AfD Leader Siegmund Says the Party Is ‘Making History’ After Forecast Election Win

“We are making history,” AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund said as the party celebrated forecasts showing a sweeping victory in Saxony-Anhalt. The Alternative for Germany appeared to have won a major breakthrough in the eastern German state, but the result did not immediately give it a route into government.

Initial exit forecasts put the AfD at 44.5%, more than twice the projected support for the Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The CDU stood at 18.5%, while Die Linke was forecast at 9.5%, the Social Democrats at 8% and the Greens at 9%.

The smaller BSW party also appeared to have cleared the 5% threshold needed to return to the state parliament, contrary to expectations. Turnout reached a historic high of 76.5% in the state, which formerly belonged to East Germany.

Votes were still being counted, but early projections suggested that the AfD had not won an outright majority. That threshold is central to Siegmund’s position. He has repeatedly said he would refuse to become state premier unless the party secured a majority on its own, arguing that this would be the only way to bring about real change in Germany.

The AfD had been polling at around 40% to 41% before the election and appeared to have exceeded those expectations. However, it seemed unlikely to reach Siegmund’s stated target of 45% or more. The party has also said it will not govern with another party, while other parties have ruled out joining an AfD-led state government.

“

We are making history.