Expert on AfD Breakthrough: “A Huge Symbolic Deal”

The AfD’s landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt carries a symbolic weight far beyond the state, according to political scientist Ann-Kristin Kölln. “It is a huge deal symbolically,” she told the Swedish news agency TT.

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It is a huge deal symbolically.

Saxony-Anhalt is one of Germany’s smaller states. But the AfD more than doubled its support there and became the clear largest party. The local AfD branch is classified as right-wing extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, making the result especially significant in national politics.

The election success gives the AfD additional legitimacy and shows that it has become a force in German politics, Kölln said. It could also mark a step toward the party’s normalization among wider sections of society. “The more voters see a party being normalized by others, the more people begin to perceive it as normal,” she said, adding that the process would take place gradually.

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It gives the AfD additional legitimacy, and shows that they are a force in German politics, a party to be reckoned with.

The final balance of power remained uncertain because the left-conservative BSW stood at exactly 5% in exit polls. If it fails to enter the state parliament, fewer parties would divide the seats, potentially leaving the AfD with the largest number of mandates. “The next few hours before the official result will be very exciting,” Kölln said.

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The more voters see a party being normalized by others, the more people begin to perceive it as normal.

If the AfD falls short of a majority, forming a new state government could prove highly unclear. All traditional parties have considered cooperation with the far-right party impossible. Even a coalition of all of them would lack a majority according to the exit polls, and such an alliance would itself be unlikely because the Christian Democratic CDU has so far refused to work with Die Linke. A CDU-AfD coalition would mean breaking the so-called firewall against the far right, something Kölln called unthinkable for now. A smaller opening could exist between the AfD and BSW, she said, because BSW has not ruled out cooperation and the parties share some policy positions. Still, Kölln said Germany’s traditional parties were not yet ready to bring the AfD into the political mainstream, partly for historical reasons.

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The next few hours before the official result will be very exciting.