Alice Weidel after Saxony-Anhalt vote: “The CDU will never win another election”

The AfD has won Saxony-Anhalt’s state election by a commanding margin, according to the first projections from ARD and ZDF. The far-right party secured between 44.1% and 44.5% of the vote, but appeared likely to miss an outright majority.

“

We achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve.

The CDU, led in the state by Minister-President Sven Schulze, followed with 18.5%. The Left received between 9.2% and 9.4%, the SPD between 8.2% and 8.8%, and the Greens between 8.7% and 8.9%. The BSW remained in a knife-edge position at 4.8% to 5.0%, while the FDP fell to between 2.1% and 2.4% and was projected to leave the state parliament.

The existing governing alliance of the CDU, SPD and FDP no longer has a majority and has effectively been voted out. Schulze could nevertheless try to form a government, potentially a minority administration supported by the SPD and Greens. About 1.69 million voters were eligible to cast ballots by 6 p.m.

“

We have made history in this state.

AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund said the party had achieved what it set out to do and had “made history” in the state. He did not say whether he wanted to become minister-president. Weidel said the result represented “a clear mandate to govern” and that the party’s future role, whether through tolerance of a minority government or a coalition, remained to be determined. She added that the AfD would continue to surge in eastern Germany and nationally, declaring, “The CDU will never win another election.”

“

This is a historic result, and it is a clear mandate to govern.

Schulze acknowledged his defeat before supporters in Magdeburg and congratulated the AfD on becoming the strongest force in the state parliament. “We will also have to deal with this result as the CDU,” he said, while criticizing the consequences of the German government’s policies under Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“

The CDU will never win another election.