Kickl on AfD victory: “Felt far beyond Germany”
Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
- Austrian FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl described the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt as a democratic mandate that would be felt beyond Germany.
- Kickl said voters had rejected Germany’s established parties and the political barrier against the AfD.
- Forming a state government could prove difficult because the minister-president rejects coalitions with both the AfD and the Left, while the AfD’s lead candidate ruled out coalitions with other parties.
Herbert Kickl called the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt “a democratic mandate from the sovereign that will be felt far beyond Germany,” according to a statement issued by the FPÖ leader on Sunday evening.
a democratic mandate from the sovereign that will be felt far beyond Germany
Kickl said voters had not only chosen the AfD, but had also voted against what he called the united front of the established parties. He described the political barrier erected against the AfD as undemocratic and said voters had torn it down at the ballot box.
The election leaves government formation in the structurally weak state potentially difficult. Almost 1.7 million of Saxony-Anhalt’s more than 2.1 million residents were eligible to vote. The 47-year-old minister-president, Schulze, took office only at the end of January and says he will not bring ministers from either the AfD or the Left into his cabinet. He also rejects coalitions with both parties.
Voters today not only voted for the AfD, but above all voted out the united front of the established parties.
Under the state constitution, the minister-president remains in office until a successor is elected. AfD lead candidate Siegmund had said before the election that he would not form a coalition with any other party, hoping the party would win enough seats to govern alone.
They tore down at the ballot box the undemocratic barrier that detached elites had erected against the only patriotic force and therefore against the will of their own population. That is democracy in action.
Originally published by Die Presse in German. 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.