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🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

Saxony-Anhalt AfD leader says he is ready for coalition talks

From Kathimerini · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund called the party’s result in Saxony-Anhalt a clear mandate to govern and sought exploratory talks with other parties.
  • AfD co-leader Alice Weidel described the victory as historic and said it could have implications at the federal level.
  • Siegmund said he had already spoken with lawmakers from the CDU and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, while insisting that the AfD would not compromise its principles.

The AfD is presenting its victory in Saxony-Anhalt as a mandate to take power. Its lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, called for exploratory talks with other parties, while co-leader Alice Weidel described the result as a “historic success” with consequences beyond the state.

Weidel said Friedrich Merz had lost the public’s trust and that voters wanted political change. “The CDU will not win another election. The AfD will emerge as the strongest force,” she said, adding that the chancellor had been the AfD’s best campaign worker.

Friedrich Merz has lost the trust of the citizens. Voters want political change.

· Alice WeidelThe AfD co-leader assessed the election result and argued that it signaled broader political change.

Co-leader Tino Chrupalla predicted that the Christian Democratic Union would soon disappear from eastern German states. He said the AfD had extended its hand to all parties. Siegmund said he was prepared to speak with lawmakers to determine whether parliamentary groups or individual members could help enable political change in Saxony-Anhalt.

The CDU will not win another election. The AfD will emerge as the strongest force. The chancellor was the AfD’s best campaign worker.

· Alice WeidelWeidel used the result to criticize the CDU and Friedrich Merz.

Siegmund said he was already talking to members of the CDU and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW. He called the election result an unmistakable mandate to govern, but said he would not compromise. “I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror at night and remain true to myself,” he said.

He also said he wanted to help create the conditions for the AfD to enter government and for Weidel to become chancellor, including by taking an active role in the next federal election campaign.

The election result is clearly a mandate for the AfD to govern. It could not be clearer. But we will not compromise.

· Ulrich SiegmundThe AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt candidate described the result as authorization to seek government power.

Asked whether residents with migrant backgrounds should be worried, Siegmund said his program was based on the rule of law and argued that other parties, not the AfD, excluded and stigmatized people. Weidel said people who obey the law and pay taxes were welcome, while claiming that residents no longer felt safe because people with migrant backgrounds wandered in parks and that women and Christian children no longer felt safe at night or in schools.

I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror at night and remain true to myself.

· Ulrich SiegmundSiegmund explained his insistence that coalition talks would not require him to abandon his principles.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. 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.

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