Orbán sends AfD a message after victory: ‘Get ready. This is just the beginning!’

“A huge night for Germany and Europe!” Viktor Orbán wrote after the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won about 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. He congratulated Alice Weidel, Ulrich Siegmund and the entire party, then added: “Buckle up. This is just the beginning!”

The Hungarian prime minister was quick to celebrate the result, and the article noted that he had already described the AfD as the future in 2025. Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini echoed Orbán, calling the result a huge success despite what he described as continued efforts by the left to stoke fears and invoke catastrophic scenarios.

The center-right CDU received 17.2%, the Left Party 8.6%, the Social Democrats 9.3% and the Greens 8.9%, according to the figures cited. The AfD’s result exceeded 40%, but that was not enough for an absolute majority in the state parliament.

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I congratulate Alice Weidel, Ulrich Siegmund and the entire AfD on their convincing victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Get ready! This is just the beginning!

With Siegmund at the top of its party list, the AfD was projected to win 39 of the parliament’s 83 seats. The article said the party therefore could not form a government on its own, and that the process of forming a government remained to be seen.

Saxony-Anhalt has 2.1 million residents. The article said the state election would normally attract attention mainly from German domestic-policy observers and local residents, but that this result drew worldwide attention.

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A huge night for Germany and Europe! Congratulations to Alice Weidel, Ulrich Siegmund and the entire AfD on their landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt! Buckle up. This is just the beginning!