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Far Right AfD Poised for Historic Victory in Saxony Anhalt State Election

evening · · thread: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Faces Leadership Crisis After Controversial Reshuffle

18 sources across 11 countries

Who reported this

  • Haaretz Israel · Left · Schocken family and M. DuMont Schauberg
  • The Times of Israel Israel · Centre · Seth Klarman (majority backer)
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • ANSA Italy · Centre · Publisher cooperative
  • Corriere della Sera Italy · Centre-right · RCS MediaGroup (Cairo Communication)
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • Financial Times United Kingdom · Centre · Nikkei Inc.
  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Novaya Gazeta Europe Latvia · Centre-left · Crowdfunded; exiled Russian newsroom
  • Business Day South Africa · Centre-right · Arena Holdings (Lebashe Investment Group)
  • Bloomberg United States · Centre · Bloomberg L.P. (Michael Bloomberg)

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

The far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is the favorite to win the state elections in Saxony Anhalt this Sunday, with polls placing the party between 40 percent and 43 percent. If the AfD secures an absolute majority, it would mark the first time a far right party has governed a German state since World War II. The party's lead candidate, 35 year old Ulrich Siegmund, has campaigned on a platform of restricting immigration, repairing relations with Russia, and promoting traditional German values. He has also proposed banning rainbow flags in schools and halting the construction of new wind farms.

Mainstream parties, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), have maintained a firewall by refusing to form coalitions with the AfD. This policy means that unless the AfD wins an absolute majority, it may be blocked from power. Current polls show the CDU at approximately 23 percent, followed by the Left Party at 11.5 percent, the Social Democrats (SPD) at 8.5 percent, and the Greens at 6 percent. Some smaller parties, such as the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), may fail to meet the 5 percent threshold required for parliamentary representation.

Voter turnout has seen a significant increase, reaching 65.3 percent by 4 p.m. local time, which is substantially higher than the 41 percent recorded at the same time in 2021. The election is widely viewed as a test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government has struggled with an unpopular economy and rising support for the far right. In response to the potential victory, thousands of protesters gathered in the capital city of Magdeburg on Saturday for a festival of democracy to oppose the AfD's rise to power.

How each side framed it

Left
Framed the event as a warning of the far right gaining the most power since World War II.
Centre-left
Analyzed the sociological drivers of the party's strength in eastern Germany and the risk to democratic institutions.
Centre
Focused on the historical significance of the potential turnaround and the party's specific policy goals.
Centre-right
Emphasized the record voter turnout and the potential for a majority absolute victory.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.