Anti-Immigration Party Poised for Major Victory in German State

Saxony-Anhalt is heading toward a potentially historic election on Sunday, with the Alternative for Germany poised to make a breakthrough. Polls put the anti-immigration, right-wing party above 40 percent, far ahead of the conservative CDU at about 23 percent.

If AfD wins an absolute majority, it would take power in a German state for the first time in its short history. According to dpa, it would also mark the first time since World War II that a far-right party had formed a state government in Germany.

The eastern state has just over 2.1 million residents. The CDU currently leads a three-party coalition there, but the polling gap has left the established parties facing a severe test. AfD, founded in 2013, became Germany’s second-largest party in the 2025 federal election with just over 20 percent of the vote, twice its share in 2021.

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Germany’s most dangerous man

Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old AfD leader in Saxony-Anhalt, was described by Der Spiegel magazine in August as “Germany’s most dangerous man.” He has said that all irregular migrants would be expelled “from the very first minute” if AfD took power. The party also wants to ban rainbow flags in schools and replace them with German flags at public schools.

Germany’s domestic intelligence service has classified AfD as a right-wing extremist organization in Saxony-Anhalt and four other states, according to dpa. The party criticizes immigrants and the European Union, advocates traditional German values and supports better relations with Russia.

Other parties, along with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU and many senior politicians, have warned against AfD. They reject cooperation with the party under the policy known as the “firewall.” An AfD victory would expose how difficult that strategy has become as the party’s support grows in both state and national politics.

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from the very first minute