“It could not be clearer”: AfD’s Siegmund sets sights on state premier after victory

Ulrich Siegmund is presenting AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt as a mandate to take power. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, the party’s lead candidate said the result was “a completely clear mandate to form a government, it could not be clearer.”

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a completely clear mandate to form a government, it could not be clearer

Siegmund described himself as a possible future premier of Saxony-Anhalt and said he would negotiate with individual parliamentary groups or lawmakers willing to take on what he called a historic task. He said he would first “extend a hand to every member” of the state parliament.

His willingness to compromise, however, has limits. “I want to remain loyal to our values and our program,” Siegmund said. He contrasted AfD with the Christian Democrats, accusing the CDU of softening all its positions in order to join a government.

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I want to remain loyal to our values and our program

His ambitions also reach beyond the state. Siegmund said he would invest his resources in the coming weeks and months not only to “save our wonderful state” but also to help AfD succeed across Germany. He said Germany needed Chancellor Alice Weidel to overturn what he called “completely insane and absurd political decisions” in Berlin. AfD co-leaders Weidel and Tino Chrupalla publicly backed him in forming a government, calling the election result a “dream result” and an “absolutely historic result,” respectively.

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extend a hand to every member

Preliminary results gave AfD 43.8% of the vote, compared with 17.2% for the CDU. The Left, Greens and Social Democrats each cleared the 5% threshold with about 9%, while the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance also entered the state parliament. The pro-business Free Democrats won 2.6% and failed to gain seats. AfD won the election but did not secure an absolute majority.

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completely insane and absurd political decisions