Far-right AfD wins record support in German state election
The far-right Alternative for Germany party won 44% of the vote in Sunday's regional election in Saxony-Anhalt — the strongest result for a far-right party in Germany since World War II. The outcome has raised concerns about the normalization of extremism.
In regional parliamentary elections in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) achieved a historic victory, winning 44% of the vote and 39 of 83 seats. This marks the strongest showing by a far-right party in Germany since the end of World War II.
The party is led by Ulrich Siegmund, a former perfume salesman, who campaigned under an optimistic slogan suggesting that anything is possible. Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the country's domestic intelligence agency, has officially classified AfD as a right-wing extremist organization.
Links to the past
Several former members of banned neo-Nazi organizations are active within the party. AfD's characterization of Germany's willingness to acknowledge Nazi-era crimes as a kind of "identity disorder" has sparked sharp debate over the reassessment of history. The party also uses the term "lying press" to describe centrist media outlets — a phrase once favored in the rhetoric of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
Immigration plans
One of the most contentious elements of AfD's platform is its openness to discussing the deportation of immigrants, including those holding German citizenship, so that only so-called "bio-Germans" would remain in the country. This stance has been described as a revival of political racism.
AfD's success in Saxony-Anhalt has raised concerns both within Germany and elsewhere in Europe about the spread of far-right ideas and their potential impact on the country's political landscape.
