AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt and seeks first far-right state government since WWII
The far-right AfD has won almost 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, leaving it short of a majority but seeking support to form Germany's first far-right state government since World War II.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
AfD wins historic Saxony-Anhalt election as Merz's CDU crashes
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a decisive victory in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, taking almost 44% of the vote according to projections and results. It is the strongest ever result for the party in a regional election and puts it close to power at state level for the first time. If it can govern, it would be the first far-right state government in Germany since the Second World War.
The AfD fell short of an outright majority. Early projections put it around 44%, with later counts suggesting it was about three seats short. It is now seeking support from other parties or individuals to govern. Other mainstream parties have refused to enter coalition with the AfD under Germany's long-standing firewall, or Brandmauer. If the AfD cannot govern, the alternative could be a messy coalition of the CDU with parties from the centre-left, the Greens or the left, which would be difficult to hold together.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU suffered a severe defeat. Its vote almost halved to around 17.2% in a state it has governed for 24 years. Merz said he and his party leadership were deeply shocked by the result and called it a tectonic shift that had consequences for all of Germany. He refused to resign but faces growing pressure on his leadership. AfD leaders claimed a mandate to govern and described the night as historic.
The AfD campaign in Saxony-Anhalt was led by Ulrich Siegmund, a 35-year-old former perfume salesman and local social media star. Der Spiegel called him 'the most dangerous man in Germany', a label his supporters embraced. He has tapped into nostalgia for East Germany before reunification, riding a Simson moped at rallies and promising to restore pride and order. The party's platform includes a hardline immigration policy, a deportation task force, so-called remigration, a ban on rainbow pride flags in schools, a traditional family model, and closer ties with Russia. It also wants schools to focus less on Germany's Nazi past and to defund what it calls anti-German art.
State parliaments in Germany have real powers over education, culture and policing, so an AfD-led government in Saxony-Anhalt would have practical influence beyond a symbolic victory. Domestic intelligence in the state classifies the AfD as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation, a designation the party rejects. Critics, including anti-AfD protesters in Magdeburg, say the result is a moment of peril. Migrants and Holocaust survivors expressed anxiety about the party's plans.
The result has implications across Europe. The AfD is already the largest opposition party in the Bundestag and leads some national polls, though its support is strongest in the former East. Far-right parties are also rising in Austria, France, Spain and elsewhere. The Kremlin and Elon Musk both welcomed the result, according to one report. European leaders will watch whether the firewall holds and whether the AfD can turn this state victory into national power.
Coalition talks could take days or weeks. The final result may still change, but the political damage to Merz and the centre is already clear. As one correspondent put it, this small state just held a big election.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exit polls showed the AfD winning about 44% of the vote, falling short of an overall majority. | |||||||
| The CDU's support fell sharply, with less than 20% of the vote. | · | · | |||||
| An AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt would be the first time a far-right party held state-level power in Germany since World War II. | · | · | · | ||||
| Other regional parties said they would not form a coalition with the AfD. | · | · | · | ||||
| The AfD is leading in polls in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. | · | · | · | ||||
| Chancellor Merz said the result was a tectonic shift and shook his party to its foundations. | · | · | · | · | |||
| Domestic intelligence in Saxony-Anhalt classifies the AfD as right-wing extremist. | · | · | · | · | |||
| The AfD manifesto pledges to ban the LGBT rainbow flag in schools. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| The AfD promises immediate detention and mass deportation of foreigners who do not meet criteria. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| Der Spiegel described Ulrich Siegmund as the most dangerous man in Germany. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Experts assessed the result as a crisis in German politics but not yet a national takeover. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Friedrich Merz refused to step down despite the election result in Saxony-Anhalt. | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West framed the result as a historic breakthrough for a party it repeatedly described as far-right and extremist-designated. Its coverage focused on the scale of the AfD win, the collapse in CDU support, and the wider consequences for Chancellor Merz and Europe. It also gave detailed airtime to the party's policies on history, culture and immigration.
- “The far-right AfD party in Germany has achieved its strongest ever win in a regional election, according to exit polls.”
- “the AFD won nearly 44 percent of the votes just short of an outright majority”
- “Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz says his country is facing a tectonic shift in party politics”
Sky News centred its coverage on Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, and the possibility of an absolute majority. It mixed rally atmosphere with anti-AfD protests and stressed the deep division in the state. Its reporting also tracked the pressure on Friedrich Merz and the international fallout.
- “He's been described as the most dangerous man in Germany one that could catapult the far-right party alternative for Germany into power”
- “There is a possibility that for the first time since the Second World War an extreme far-right party Could win an absolute majority”
- “AFD had been polling for a number of weeks around the 42% mark, and in the end, they achieved 44%”
Channel 4 took a road-trip approach, tying the AfD's rise to economic decline, deindustrialisation and nostalgia in eastern Germany. It gave space to the party's pro-Russian stance, its opposition to immigration, and the fears of migrants and Jewish communities. It also covered the CDU's refusal to do a deal with the AfD.
- “Exit polls published just over an hour ago suggest they have won an historic victory. In fact, just one vote short of an overall majority.”
- “This is a story of nostalgia, economic decline and its political consequences in Europe's powerhouse.”
- “The Kremlin posted on X that the pro-Russian party's victory was Germany's awakening. Elon Musk also said that he was delighted.”
BBC NEWS treated the result as a live political earthquake, combining rolling updates, expert analysis and correspondent reports. It highlighted the historic taboo being broken, the CDU's collapse, the AfD's national polling lead and the coalition maths. Its coverage repeatedly returned to Merz's weakened position.
- “The AfD wins a landslide in a German state election as it seeks to form the country's first far-right government since the Second World War.”
- “Chancellor Merz had promised to slash the AFD's popularity. The party has fallen three seats short of a majority”
- “This is a moment of peril for Germany.”
ITV1 emphasised the scale of the political earthquake and the breaking of Germany's post-war taboo on far-right power. Its reporting included voters, migrants and coalition scenarios, with a strong focus on what happens next. It also placed the result in a wider European pattern of far-right gains.
- “The German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland is on course to win a huge 44% of the vote in a regional election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.”
- “Since 1945, it's been the ultimate taboo in Germany to let the far-right anywhere near power.”
- “The election posters are coming down across Saxony-Anhalt, along with their warnings of a Nazi future and urgings not to vote for the far-right AfD.”
5 News covered the result as a political earthquake with a strong human impact, including the concerns of Holocaust survivors and migrants. It stressed that the AfD still needs a majority and put the win in the context of a smaller, relatively impoverished eastern region. Its tone was concise and alarm-focused.
- “That's what a political earthquake sounds like.”
- “For Holocaust survivors, refugees and their families, what we've witnessed over the weekend is deeply unsettling and profoundly concerning”
- “You're talking about a big win for the far right in a relatively impoverished, smaller region.”
GB News gave a sympathetic platform to an AfD politician and framed the result as a victory over the German political establishment. Its coverage attacked the firewall strategy, compared the AfD's rise to right-wing movements elsewhere, and focused on CDU weakness. The tone was celebratory toward the AfD and critical of centrist parties.
- “Another huge victory for AfD.”
- “The historic sign to the entire Germany is the disaster of the Christian Democrats.”
- “The policy of the Brandmauer, the firewall, is a disaster for the Christian Democrats.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.