This is a historic victory for the Far Right. With 44.5 percent (ARD projection at 6:28 p.m.), Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) achieved its best-ever result in a state election this week. While it fell just short of securing an outright majority on its own, the political earthquake turned out to be even greater than polls ahead of the election had suggested. Militant fascists are likely to feel vindicated in their witch hunt against leftists, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people. The center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered a historic collapse, while the liberals of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Greens, and Die Linke (The Left) will enter the state parliament with roughly the same number of seats, around nine percent each. The latter is a major setback for Die Linke, as the slogan “Vote tactically against the AfD” failed to weaken the AfD at all. The Greens, in turn, likely benefited from the historically high voter turnout of around 80 percent and achieved the best result ever recorded by a party in Saxony-Anhalt.

Germany, Forschungsgruppe Wahlen projection:

Saxony-Anhalt regional parliament election

AfD (ESN): 44.4% (+23.6)
CDU (EPP): 18.3% (-18.8)
LINKE (LEFT): 9.2% (-1.8)
SPD (S&D): 8.6% (+0.2)
GRÜNE (Greens/EFA): 8.4% (+2.5)
BSW (NI): 4.8% (new)
FDP (RE): 2.4% (-4.0)

+/- vs. Last… pic.twitter.com/MNRKCOXDm5

— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) September 6, 2026

Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW alliance (a sovereigntist party founded by the former leader of Die Linke) is proving to be a kingmaker. With polling figures between 4.8 percent (ZDF projection) and 5.0 percent (ARD projection), it remains uncertain whether BSW will manage to enter the state parliament. If it clears the five-percent threshold, a political crisis of even greater proportions looms, as Wagenknecht’s party previously rejected a proposal for a “front of all democrats against the AfD” — which would mean, in this case, a CDU-led coalition likely supported by Die Linke. In that scenario, it would be unlikely that a CDU minister-president would secure a majority. Therefore, the AfD could ultimately form a government on its own, even without an absolute majority in the state parliament, but a caretaker government or new elections are also possible. It is also entirely conceivable that some CDU members, some of whom have already declared their firm opposition to cooperating with Die Linke, might switch sides and install Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD candidate, in power.

The first AfD state government is thus within reach. This would have serious consequences for immigrants, women, and queer people, against whom the AfD intends to intensify state-sanctioned attacks and discrimination. This includes, for example, the plan to establish a deportation police force modeled after ICE in the United States. Students, too, would be severely affected by an AfD government. For instance, the party wants to deploy security guards in schools — an authoritarian measure against young people. With control over the police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the AfD could also take action against leftists and union members.

At the same time, the parties in the federal government suffered a crushing defeat tonight. The AfD’s top candidate even referred to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as his best campaigner. The Saxony-Anhalt CDU is aware of the widespread dissatisfaction with the Merz-Klingbeil government and tried to distance itself from Merz during the election. That didn’t help the incumbent CDU Minister-President Sven Schulze, however: the CDU only got 18.5 percent of the vote, half of what it received in 2021.

This was not solely due to the far-reaching rearmament and austerity program that Merz’s party is trying to push through — using increasingly authoritarian means — in the now completely discredited federal government. The track record of the Saxony-Anhalt state government, marked by drastic cuts to social programs and a steady accommodation to the AfD’s racist demands, also contributed to Schulze’s disastrous result.

Nevertheless, Schulze’s party is now preparing, for the time being, to continue governing with the SPD and the Greens — parties that were below the five-percent threshold just a few weeks ago and were given new life by the slogan “vote tactically.” In doing so, he will be reliant on Die Linke — which received 9.4 percent of the vote — to secure a majority. On election night, Die Linke reaffirmed its willingness to elect a CDU minister-president.

In such a scenario — a CDU-led minority government supported by Die Linke — AfD would not be directly involved in the government. However, this would offer no relief to workers, young people, immigrants, or those who oppose the rightward shift. On the contrary, Die Linke’s complicity in making deals with all the traditional parties against the AfD would considerably weaken resistance against this radical rightward turn.

Even before the elections, the CDU made its conditions clear for a hypothetical coalition that included Die Linke: “No concessions, just five years of pure CDU.” “Pure CDU” implies many things: the introduction of forced labor for basic income recipients, as Schulze has repeatedly demanded; electroshock weapons for the police; AI surveillance of public spaces and even more intense persecution of refugees; the closure of hospitals in rural areas; and numerous other measures against workers, the poor, young people, immigrants, and the Left. Thus, Die Linke would be forced to abandon its entire program and cover up Schulze’s reactionary plans for austerity and deportation. However, “pure CDU” does not mean a weakening of the AfD. On the contrary: it is precisely the CDU’s policies that generate the discontent from which the AfD benefits due to the lack of a credible left-wing opposition.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear how long the CDU will be willing to form a coalition with Die Linke. Closer cooperation with the Far Right, already a reality at the local level, is currently hampered by foreign policy differences, but voices within the party continue to call for a fundamental realignment of its approach to the AfD. Nico Elsner, chairman of the Youth Union (of the CDU) in Saxony-Anhalt, recently advocated cooperating with the AfD in the state parliament. The constant pressure from a very strong AfD and the risk of defections within the CDU parliamentary group will only lead to a minority government of the CDU, SPD, and Greens further tailoring its policies to the Far Right.

This illustrates why the left must not fall into the trap of arguing that tolerating the CDU strengthens antifascism. The political bankruptcy of the so-called “firewall” — broad coalitions of traditional parties that end up adopting more right-wing platforms and advancing militarism — is now undeniable. It has not stopped the AfD because this was never really its goal. It is time to adopt a different strategy.

To defeat the Right, we need to oppose the policies that provide them with fertile ground for their growth. In light of the AfD’s historic success, it is necessary to organize mass resistance against the Far Right. Trade unions, worker councils, student representatives, local anti-fascist groups, and school strike committees must convene meetings and prepare for concrete struggles: self-defense against fascist thugs, but also defense against deportations and border controls, against social cuts and hospital closures, and against surveillance and rearmament. School strikes and social protests must be linked in this context.

Only the organization and mobilization of workers and young people can offer a coherent alternative to right-wing politics, with a program that combines social and anti-racist demands. These include equal pay and pensions between East and West, massive investments in health and education instead of rearmament, retirement at age 60 for all residents, open borders, and the abolition of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution — all achieved through joint mobilizations and strikes.

Giving support to the CDU would undermine these efforts by diverting the fight against the Right toward institutional compromises with the “lesser evil.” This is nothing more than a capitulation to the rightward shift, because the lesser evil is always followed by the greater evil. All left-wing forces, both within and outside the party, must publicly oppose supporting a CDU government and exert pressure on the CDU leadership and the Left Party members of parliament in Saxony-Anhalt. If they are truly committed to fighting AfD, they must use their seats in the state parliament and their connections within the trade unions to strengthen resistance against fascist violence and racist, anti-worker, and authoritarian policies in the streets, schools, workplaces, and universities.

The Far Right can only be stopped through mobilization and strikes. No agreement with the CDU will overcome the political crisis; only a response from the workers and the youth movement can. We say: Neither an AfD government nor a minority CDU coalition! Let us use the coming days and weeks to prepare for a political strike. The leadership of Die Linke and the SPD now has the responsibility to use its influence in the unions to organize such strikes. However, they will only do so if the pressure in the factories, at meetings, and on the streets is strong enough. We need mass protests across the country. We cannot limit these initiatives to symbolic demonstrations or calls to maintain the “firewall.” The CDU firmly defends racist policies at the national level and even within Saxony-Anhalt itself.

Our allies against the AfD are not in the Merz-Klingbeil government. They are among the workers, like those in the ports and the automotive industry, who are already engaged in labor disputes. They are the ones participating in social protests, taking to the streets against the government’s austerity policies. And they are the striking students who oppose mandatory military service and rearmament. Now, we must join forces to chart a left-wing path forward: against the rightward shift, authoritarianism, and austerity policies, as well as against rearmament.

This becomes even more critical if the AfD forms a government. If AfD ministers try to convene meetings, the country must be brought to a standstill. They must not be given the opportunity to form a functioning government. If the public sector, transport companies, and other key logistics and infrastructure businesses go on strike, the government will be powerless. Meetings are needed in all public institutions, and especially in schools and universities, so that teachers, other staff, and students can prepare for the strikes. Nationwide coordination is required to organize resistance.

This article was originally published in German on September 6 in Klasse Gegen Klasse.

The post Political Crisis in Germany: Far-Right AfD Sweeps Elections in Saxony-Anhalt appeared first on Left Voice.

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