Legislative body - Saxony-Anhalt advances toward a more conservative stance.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has triumphed in the recent European and municipal elections within Saxony-Anhalt, causing alarm in state politics. Left-wing faction leader Eva von Angern is worried about the political future and the impacts it'll have on our society. Other parties have expressed their concerns as well and stated they're reviewing the results.
AfD co-faction leader Ulrich Siegmund is delighted with his party's success and has expressed their intention to take on government responsibility at the state level. "We're the new people's party in this country," he said confidently. "By 2026, we aim to govern in Saxony-Anhalt alone." In two years, another state election will take place in the region.
Siegmund slammed Minister President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) for referring to the AfD's triumphs as a terrible day for Germany. This statement was shocking to Siegmund, who deemed this perspective "forgetting history" and "deeply undemocratic."
Sociologist and extremism researcher Matthias Quent explained that these victories signify a strategic move by the AfD to localize their party and, ultimately, enable them to cooperate at a regional level. "They're normalizing themselves through local parliaments," Quent asserted.
Siegmund admitted during a press conference that the AfD can't occupy every seat in the country. In several municipalities, the AfD has won more seats than they had even nominated candidates for.
The European election in Saxony-Anhalt saw the AfD gaining a significant lead. Preliminary results reveal they secured 30.5% of votes, an improvement of 10.2 percentage points from the last European election in 2019. The CDU followed with 22.8% (minus 0.4%). The newly formed Sahra Wagenknecht Bundle (BSW) gained 15% of votes. The SPD experienced a setback with 8.7%, and the Greens and FDP underperformed at 3.9% and 2.5%, respectively.
Nearly 1.8 million residents in the country took part in the election, with a voter turnout of 62%. CDU parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer was not pleased with the outcome for his party but emphasized the importance of focusing on local politics, even if the AfD is involved.
In the European Parliament, AfD candidate Arno Bausemer and CDU candidate Alexandra Mehnert have been elected as representatives for Saxony-Anhalt. Mehnert is a veteran political scientist at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, while Bausemer is a local politician from the Altmark. Despite being reprimanded for inaccuracies in his CV by a party convention at the end of 2021, Bausemer retained his place on the list for the European election.
The AfD also outperformed the CDU in the municipal and county council elections. With 2591 out of 2594 electoral districts counted, they secured 28.1%, a substantial growth of 11.6 percentage points compared to the 2019 elections. The CDU earned 26.7%. Post-election losses resulted in the SPD receiving 11.9% (minus 1.8%), the Left 8.3% (minus 6.7%), the Greens 4.5% (minus 3.9%), and the FDP 3.4% (minus 2.5%).
The voter turnout in this election was significantly higher than the one in 2019, standing at 60.8%. CDU parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer believes it's time for his party to focus on local politics and good governance, regardless of whether the AfD is willing to cooperate.
Quent pointed out that some of the AfD's newly-elected supporters hold extreme right-wing views. He believes that appealing to them with "good politics" is not possible. He attributes the higher-than-usual election results to workers and employees who feel unrepresented by other parties and thus chose the AfD.
As the saying goes, "All politics is local," and the AfD seems poised to capitalize on this principle in Saxony-Anhalt. By building a strong local base and working their way up, they are actively pursuing a parked path towards national power.
The representatives of SPD, Greens, and FDP in Saxony-Anhalt blame their poor results on the actions of the federal government. Greens parliamentary group leader Cornelia Lüddemann described the traffic light's performance as "completely awful." SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Falko Grube urged Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to now take the lead in the government following recent disputes. FDP parliamentary group leader Andreas Silbersack insisted that the traffic light should establish policies in which people don't feel neglected.
Bishop Friedrich Kramer of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany expressed worry about the massive gains of the AfD and other right-wing populists, stating: "These forces have been bolstered, and they aim to battle and dismantle the European Union. I'm concerned about this trend." He added: "The churches uphold the foundations upon which this Europe was built - respect for human dignity, freedom and democracy, equality, and the rule of law, as well as the safeguarding of human rights. These principles are non-negotiable for us."
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The European elections and local elections in Saxony-Anhalt have significantly shifted the political landscape, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) making notable gains. This has raised concerns about the future of democracy in the region. Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, was critical of the AfD's success, which was seen as a defeat by some.
The AfD's co-faction leader, Ulrich Siegmund, is confident that his party will continue to gain ground, aiming to govern in Saxony-Anhalt alone by 2026. Siegmund criticized Haseloff for his perspective as undemocratic and forgetting history.
Sociologist Matthias Quent explained that the AfD's strategic move to localize their party and cooperate at a regional level is a means to normalize themselves and potentially gain power on a national level.
In the European Parliament, AfD candidate Arno Bausemer and CDU candidate Alexandra Mehnert were elected as representatives for Saxony-Anhalt. Despite Bausemer's controversy over inaccuracies in his CV, he retained his place on the list for the European election.
The AfD also outperformed the CDU in the municipal and county council elections, securing a substantial growth of 11.6 percentage points compared to the 2019 elections. The SPD, the Left, the Greens, and the FDP all experienced loss of support.
Nearly 1.8 million residents participated in the election, with a voter turnout of 60.8%. CDU parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer emphasized the importance of focusing on local politics and good governance, regardless of the AfD's involvement.
Quent acknowledged that some of the AfD's newly-elected supporters hold extreme right-wing views and that appealing to them with "good politics" is not possible. He attributes the high election results to workers and employees who feel unrepresented by other parties.
Bishop Friedrich Kramer of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany expressed concern about the massive gains of the AfD and other right-wing populists, stating that these forces aim to battle and dismantle the European Union.
As the AfD continues to gain ground in local elections, it seems they are effectively capitalizing on the principle "All politics is local" on their path towards national power.
