Reactions to AfD victory range from “well done” to “only idiots can celebrate”

The AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt has triggered sharply divided reactions abroad, from Elon Musk’s brief “Well done!” to warnings that the result signals a dangerous populist wave.

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Well done!

U.S. President Donald Trump initially shared a screenshot of the result on Truth Social without comment. Musk, who once supported Trump, went further. He replied “Well done!” to an online post by AfD leader Alice Weidel congratulating the party’s winning lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund.

France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure took the opposite view, calling the result a “very, very worrying signal.” Speaking to RTL, he said the AfD’s success showed the scale of the challenge posed by a populist wave spreading around the world and one that must be resisted. Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also called the result a “worrying signal.”

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A very, very worrying signal.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk used even harsher language. “In Poland, only idiots or traitors can celebrate the AfD’s triumph in Germany,” he wrote on X, adding that many such people had gathered in the right-wing opposition parties Confederation and Law and Justice.

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In Poland, only idiots or traitors can celebrate the AfD’s triumph in Germany.

Italy’s Lega leader Matteo Salvini said he had sent Weidel a message of support and described the AfD result as “a clear sign of the desire for change.” He said there was no danger in it: “That is called democracy.” Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani disagreed, calling the victory “bad news” and hoping it would remain a regional exception. He said the AfD’s positions conflicted with his party’s liberal values and urged the European Union to prevent “fanatical tendencies” from spreading. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition initially kept its comments limited, amid concern in Rome that Germany could send more migrants back to Italy.

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That is called democracy.