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🇨🇭 Switzerland /Elections & Politics

Germany’s far right claims historic election victory in Saxony-Anhalt

From Le Temps · () French

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

At a glance

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  • The far-right Alternative for Germany won about 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, according to exit polls, while the CDU took 18.5%.
  • The result represents a major setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his conservative party.
  • The AfD still needs to determine whether it can secure a majority and govern the eastern German state.

The AfD has claimed a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt after exit polls put it at roughly 44% of the vote, more than twice the support recorded by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU.

The figures, reported by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, gave the conservatives 18.5%. If confirmed, the result would deliver a sharp electoral blow to Merz and place the Alternative for Germany firmly at the center of the state’s political future.

Yet the far-right party cannot celebrate a governing majority just yet. It must wait to see whether the seats produced by the final result will allow it to lead the former East German state. Such an outcome would mark the first time since 1945 that the far right governed a German state.

The AfD, an anti-immigration party described in the report as pro-Russian and pro-Trump, became Germany’s largest opposition party in the 2025 legislative elections. Its performance in Saxony-Anhalt now turns that national advance into a direct test of whether it can convert electoral strength into power at state level.

About this summary

Originally published by Le Temps in French. 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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