Germany votes Sunday as AfD nears historic breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt goes to the polls Sunday with the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, approaching a historic threshold. More than 1.7 million voters will decide whether the far-right party can win a state premier’s post for the first time.

The AfD’s state leader, Ulrich Siegmund, is promising radical changes. Polls have put the party above 40%, reaching 44% before falling back to 41% or 40% in the latest survey, according to political scientist Anneli Ute Gabanyi. She described the election as crucial in an interview with Adevărul.

The vote is part of a month of state elections in Germany. Saxony-Anhalt votes on Sept. 6, followed on Sept. 20 by elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. Gabanyi noted that Berlin is itself a federal state, separate from the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

“

Yes, that was exactly the figure, but it fell, falling to 41 to 40 in yesterday’s latest poll.

She described Saxony-Anhalt as the smallest of the three states and the one facing the greatest problems. The states discussed in the interview were formed after German reunification from areas of the former East Germany. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is divided between Mecklenburg in the west, near Hamburg and Lübeck, and Western Pomerania, which borders Poland and has a different economic and social structure. Berlin has a markedly different structure from both former East German states.

Experts cited in the article warn that an AfD victory could produce shock waves across Germany and the European Union. The article specifically examines what that outcome could mean for Romania, with Gabanyi discussing the risks of a victory by Germany’s populists.

“

Most experts maintain that we are facing crucial elections.