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🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Elections & Politics

Germany’s far-right AfD seeks partners after historic state election win

From BBC News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and is projected to hold 39 of the 83 seats, three short of a majority.
  • The party is seeking support from other parties or individual lawmakers, although most German parties reject cooperation with it.
  • A minority government backed informally by the BSW is one possible route, while talks could take days or weeks.

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany says it is “very, very close” to taking power after a historic victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Preliminary results gave the AfD 43.8% of the vote, leaving it three seats short of an outright majority.

The party is now looking for support from other parties or individual lawmakers to govern. Beatrix von Storch, the AfD’s deputy parliamentary leader, urged opponents to enter talks. “You cannot say I do not accept the vote of the people,” she told the BBC.

You cannot say I do not accept the vote of the people.

· Beatrix von StorchThe AfD deputy parliamentary leader called on opposing parties to negotiate after the election result.

“If parties refuse to work with the AfD,” she said, “then we might end up in severe chaos and maybe we have a new election.” AfD leader in Saxony-Anhalt Ulrich Siegmund said the party had won a “clear mandate to govern.” He said discussions with other parties began on Sunday night and could take days or weeks.

Then we might end up in severe chaos and maybe we have a new election.

· Beatrix von StorchShe warned of the possible consequences if other parties refused to cooperate with the AfD.

The AfD is projected to win 39 seats in the 83-seat state parliament, while 42 are needed for a majority. Von Storch said the party was speaking with individuals in the conservative CDU group because they were “very, very unhappy with their own party.” The CDU won 17.2% of the vote in preliminary results.

One possible arrangement would involve the left-wing populist BSW, which is expected to win five seats, giving tacit support to an AfD minority government. The BSW is the only party besides the AfD that has not ruled out cooperation, although all other parties refuse to work with the far right. The AfD is classified as “right-wing extremist” by domestic intelligence in Saxony-Anhalt, a description Siegmund rejects.

Clear mandate to govern.

· Ulrich SiegmundThe AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt leader described the party’s preliminary election result.

No far-right party has controlled a German state since World War Two. Governing Saxony-Anhalt would give the AfD authority over areas including policing and local education. The party also leads national opinion polls and promotes a controversial “remigration” policy, which it describes as applying to criminals and people in the country illegally, while critics widely understand the term to mean mass deportations of migrants.

We reach out to everybody first, we will have consultations and then we'll see whether there are individual parliamentary groups or MPs who would be willing to help us.

· Ulrich SiegmundHe outlined the party’s approach to negotiations with other lawmakers and groups.
About this summary

Originally published by BBC News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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