Polling stations open in Saxony-Anhalt as far right leads the race

Polling stations opened Sunday in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, leads every major opinion poll. About 1.7 million voters can cast ballots between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time.

The state is currently governed by a three-party coalition that includes the Christian Democratic Union of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and state premier Sven Schulze, the Social Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Party. The latest ZDF Politbarometer, published Thursday, put the AfD at 41%, the CDU at 23%, The Left at 11.5%, the SPD at 8.5% and the Greens at 6%.

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and the FDP were below the 5% threshold, at 4% and 3%. On those figures, the AfD would not win an absolute majority. A CDU-SPD-Green coalition would also lack a majority and could need occasional support from The Left to govern as a minority administration.

The CDU has ruled out coalitions with both the AfD and The Left, following a party resolution adopted in 2018. The AfD could reach an absolute majority if the SPD and Greens failed to enter the regional parliament, although no poll points to that outcome.

If it governs alone, the AfD has announced measures including an “offensive of deportations and remigration,” a birth payment for children with at least one German-passport parent and a ban on rainbow flags in public schools. The BSW could complicate government formation if it clears the threshold. Its founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, has opposed helping Schulze win re-election and has instead proposed an expert government seeking cross-party majorities.

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offensive of deportations and remigration