Immense expansion of the AfD party - Saxony-Anhalt moves towards a conservative direction.
Following considerable gains, the AfD has emerged as the most powerful faction in Saxony-Anhalt for the European and local elections. These election outcomes have sparked unease in state politics. Eva von Angern, head of the Left faction, expressed her worry about the future, "what it will mean for us, for society." Members of other parties also raised concerns and pledged to analyze the results.
On Monday, AfD co-faction leader Ulrich Siegmund emphasized his party's ambition for government responsibility at the state level. He declared, "We are now fully preparing ourselves for government responsibility in this country by 2026." In two years, there will be a new state election in Saxony-Anhalt. "Our goal is to govern alone here."
Siegmund replied to media queries regarding the AfD's inability to occupy all the seats in the region. He informed that there are certain communities where the AfD won more seats than candidates ran.
The European election delivered a clear victory for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. According to preliminary results, the right-wing populists received 30.5% of votes - an uptick of 10.2 percentage points over the previous European election in 2019. The CDU came in second place with 22.8% (decrease of 0.4%). The recently formed Sahra Wagenknecht Bundle (BSW) garnered 15% from scratch. The SPD had 8.7% and had to deal with a blow.
The Greens (3.9%) and FDP (2.5%) stood below four percent in Saxony-Anhalt per the provisional results. The Left received 4.8%, equating to a nearly ten percentage point slump compared to the 2019 election. Von Angern termed it a "disastrous" outcome. The party needed to reassess its stance on content, strategy, and personnel.
Approximately 1.8 million people voted in the election. Voter turnout reached around 62%, higher than in previous European elections.
CDU politician Alexandra Mehnert and Arno Bausemer from the AfD will represent Saxony-Anhalt in the European Parliament. This is evident in the provisional results shared by the federal electoral commissioner. Mehnert, a political scientist who has worked at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for years, was the top CDU candidate in the state. Bausemer is a municipal politician from the Altmark region and was positioned tenth on the AfD list. Despite being reprimanded by the party's convention in December for inaccuracies in his resume, he held onto his list position.
In the municipal and county council elections, the AfD also dominated the CDU. The right-wing extremist party received 28.1% of votes in 2,591 out of 2,594 voting districts across Germany. This marked a 11.6 percentage point rise compared to the 2019 elections. The CDU had 26.7%. The SPD received 11.9% (decrease of 1.8 percentage points), the Left 8.3% (decrease of 6.7 percentage points), the Greens 4.5% (decrease of 3.9 percentage points), and the FDP 3.4% (decrease of 2.5 percentage points).
The AfD now possesses a majority in the municipal councils of more than one-third of municipalities. In nine of the 14 districts and free cities, the AfD secured the highest number of votes. According to the state election commissioner, these are the preliminary results. Counting in the three missing voting districts has paused. The data will later be integrated into the final result, to be published in one to two weeks.
Andreas Dittmann, president of the Association of Cities and Municipalities (SPD), believes the future municipal councils might experience a shift in their discourse due to the triumph of the AfD. Despite political affiliations, it's more about tackling issues than parties on the local level. "Overlaps in votes are inevitable in resolutions," mentioned Dittmann. The president of the Land Association of Saxony-Anhalt, Goetz Ulrich (CDU), anticipates a more conscious understanding of state and federal politics. Municipals are currently frustrated with dissatisfaction stemming from federal politics.
In the 2021 municipal elections, voter turnout skyrocketed to 60.8%, sharply contrasted with 53.6% in 2019. Guido Heuer, leader of the CDU's federal parliamentary group, was unsatisfied with the party's outcome. Despite this, it's about good local governance; if the AfD aligns with this approach, "then so be it."
Bishop Nikolaus Schneider from the Evangelical Church in Central Germany expressed worry regarding the AfD's progression. Quent, a sociologist and extremism researcher, suggested a segment of right-wing extremists backed the AfD. "Good politics cannot reach this cohort," Quent added. The increased support for the AfD wasn't only due to this fringe group. Many workers and employees felt uncatered to by other parties, prompting them to vote for the AfD.
Saxony-Anhalt's representatives from the SPD, Greens, and FDP attributed the federal government's lackluster performance as the root cause of their own failure. Cornelia Lüddemann, Green faction leader, dismissed the coalition as "completely bad." SPD deputy faction leader Falko Grube urged Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to become more involved in governing after recent governmental conflicts. FDP faction leader Andreas Silbersack urged the traffic light to create policies that prevent people from feeling undermined.
Bishop Friedrich Kramer of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany noted the AfD and like-minded conservatives' significant gain: "These forces have been empowered to combat and dismantle the European Union. I'm anxious about this trend." Kramer asserted, "The churches advocate the principles on which this Europe was built--respect for human dignity and freedom, equality, rule of law, and protection of human rights. We refuse to compromise on these values."
Read also:
- Reiner Haseloff, the Governor of Saxony-Anhalt, expressed his concerns about the rise of the AfD and its impact on democracy in Germany.
- Despite Eva von Angern's worries, the SPD, led by Sahra Wagenknecht in the European elections, suffered a significant loss in Saxony-Anhalt.
- The CDU, traditionally the strongest party in Saxony-Anhalt, also faced a decrease in votes, losing ground to the AfD and other parties.
- At the state level, Reiner Haseloff's CDU will need to navigate the changing political landscape, with the AfD as a powerful force in state politics.
- State elections in Saxony-Anhalt are scheduled for two years from now, and the AfD has set its sights on taking government responsibility in the state.
- The FDP, another major party in Germany, struggled in the European and local elections, reflecting a national trend for the party.
- Personal details about Arno Bausemer, an AfD representative in the European Parliament, came under scrutiny after he was reprimanded for inaccuracies in his resume.
- In the upcoming European elections, Germany, like Saxony-Anhalt, is expected to see a reshaping of political power, with various parties adjusting their strategies and alliances.
- The future of democracy in Germany and Europe will be closely watched, as parties like the AfD continue to gain support, challenging traditional political norms.
