Köpping: German government must learn lessons from election result

Petra Köpping said the AfD's sweeping victory in Saxony-Anhalt should serve as a wake-up call in Berlin. The Saxony Social Affairs Minister and SPD federal executive board member said the federal government must show that it understands the election result and will draw the right lessons from it.

“The election night in Saxony-Anhalt was a watershed and affected me personally,” Köpping told the German Press Agency in Dresden. She said she had not thought it possible for a party that is partly far-right to become by far the strongest force in a German state.

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The election night in Saxony-Anhalt was a watershed and affected me personally: I would not have thought it possible for a party that is partly far-right to become by far the strongest force in a German state.

Köpping said the result exposed a deep crisis of trust affecting the parties of the political center. The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Sunday's state election, while the CDU fell to 17.2%. The SPD received 9.3%, the Greens 8.9% and the Left 8.6%. The BSW entered the state parliament with 5.3%.

The AfD won 39 seats, short of the 42 required for a majority, meaning it cannot govern alone. Köpping's comments put the result in a wider federal political frame, with the SPD politician calling on the government in Berlin to respond clearly to the voters' message.

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The federal government must make clear that it is drawing the right lessons from this result.