Nile Gardiner weighs in after European voters appeared to reject far-left progressive policies, leading to significant conservative gains across the continent.
A political earthquake is brewing in Germany's east as working-class and young voters appear set to deliver an unprecedented victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sunday’s state elections in Saxony-Anhalt.
The AfD, which was famously backed by Elon Musk in last year’s national election, has been criticized for being pro-Russia and was accused of being a "right-wing extremist endeavor" by Germany’s domestic intelligence office, has the chance to become the first party outside the mainstream center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) or center-right Christian Democratic Union and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), to win an outright majority in a German state parliament, or Landtag, since World War II.
"The reason Saxony-Anhalt matters," foreign policy expert and author Daniel Schatz, who holds a doctorate in political science from Berlin's Humboldt University, told Fox News Digital, "is that the AfD is no longer just knocking on the door of power. It may be close to kicking it open."
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAR-LEFT PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ANTI-CONSERVATIVE PARTY RIOTS
Ulrich Siegmund, a charismatic candidate with broad appeal in the state, has helped propel the AfD to 43% in state polls, far ahead of other parties. The AfD could possibly win with a majority in the state parliament and form a state government, which would be a first for the party. Saxony-Anhalt will hold elections on Sept. 6. (2026 Getty Images)
Other minor parties have led governing coalitions in German states, but no party outside the SPD or the CDU and the CSU has ever held a single-party governing majority in Germany since the Federal Republic was re-established in 1949.
Janek Treiber, a political science researcher at Dresden University of Technology, told Fox News Digital that if the AfD does win outright in Saxony-Anhalt, their policy influence would be limited due to the German federal system, but warned "you must not underestimate the political symbol this would give. That a single party, and a right-wing party, could rule a German state… The symbol that these parties, that have been ruling Germany since 1949 or the East since 1990, they now lose control. They now lose power. I think this is a much more important symbol than just saying, OK, (the) AfD will change this or that in its local school system or university system."
Schatz described the AfD "a nationalist, anti-immigration party on the far right that has become a powerful vehicle for voter anger at Germany’s political establishment — especially in the former East Germany. It campaigns for much tighter immigration, a stronger emphasis on German national identity, rejection of much of the green agenda and a softer line toward Russia."
An outright win for the AfD, even in Germany’s 6th smallest state, would break through the political establishment’s so-called "Brandmauer," or "firewall." Simply put, other parties refuse to work with the AfD, which is currently the second-largest party in the Bundestag, officially the opposition party, after winning 20.8% of the vote in the February 2025 federal election.
'SEND THEM BACK' CHANTS ROCK EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AFTER LANDSLIDE VOTE TO SPEED UP DEPORTATIONS
The AfD's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, for the 2026 state election in Saxony-Anhalt (Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance via Getty Images)
In an interview on German broadcaster ZDF, the AfD’s national co-chair, Alice Weidel, advocated for closing Germany’s borders and exiting Europe’s Schengen treaty, saying, "Illegal migration, unchecked open borders, anyone can get in. Our internal security is suffering. People are honestly fed up with this situation."
Weidel added, "All Syrian refugees must have their protected status revoked because the reason for their flight no longer exists. These people must return to their homeland. If they don't leave voluntarily, then they must be deported by force." Adding that many of the 1.3 million Syrians in Germany are being naturalized, "we must stop naturalizing these people who should actually be leaving our country. We have Islamization."
GERMAN OFFICIALS WANT TO KNOW WHY BERLIN ATTACK SUSPECT WAS FREE DESPITE ALLEGED ISIS SUPPORT
