After Saxony-Anhalt Vote, Wüst Warns Against Naivety Over Possible AfD Government

Hendrik Wüst has a warning for anyone tempted to treat the AfD's possible takeover of Saxony-Anhalt lightly: “We must not be naive now and believe that the AfD will somehow discredit itself.”

The North Rhine-Westphalia premier made the comment during a joint campaign appearance in Berlin with Stefan Evers, the CDU's lead candidate there. Wüst said the AfD had a plan to reshape the state, and “it is not a good plan.” He pointed specifically to education, security, media and culture, while noting that the states control key decisions involving the judiciary and police.

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We must not be naive now and believe that the AfD will somehow discredit itself.

“Personnel decisions, such as who leads the police and who presides over courts, are decisions made by the states,” Wüst said. He also sought to reassure people worried about the election's consequences, including those with migrant backgrounds, queer people, Jewish people and people with disabilities. “Saxony-Anhalt still has the Basic Law, not the AfD's ethnic-nationalist program,” he said.

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They have a plan for this state, and it is not a good plan.

The AfD secured a record 43.8% in Sunday's state election. The CDU, which had governed the state, suffered major losses and received 17.2%. Wüst urged his party to respond with reflection rather than an internal personnel debate, saying it needed to listen closely to voters who were turning away from Germany's democratic center parties.

Asked whether the result could trigger a debate over Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz, Wüst rejected that as the immediate issue. The priority, he said, was understanding what was driving voters away. Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will elect new state parliaments on Sept. 20.

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Saxony-Anhalt still has the Basic Law, not the AfD's ethnic-nationalist program.