Study Finds AfD Government Program in Saxony Anhalt Financially Unfeasible

A study by the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH) concludes that the AfD government program for Saxony Anhalt would be financially impossible to implement if the party were to govern alone. According to the institute's calculations, the state budget would face a shortfall of at least 2.2 billion euros per year to fund the party's quantifiable projects. The analysis was based on official data and the AfD government program for the state election on September 6.

The authors of the study identified 136 measures with cost implications, though only 28 could be reliably quantified. These 28 measures would cost approximately 1.6 billion euros annually. Because the AfD intends to avoid new debt, the existing planned new borrowing in the state budget adds to the requirement, resulting in a total financing need of around 2.5 billion euros per year. Documented savings of approximately 243 million euros are insufficient to cover these costs.

IWH President Reint Gropp described the calculations as conservative, noting that many measures were excluded due to a lack of reliable data. Gropp stated that the program is not financially viable even in part over the medium term. He suggested that an AfD government would likely focus on symbolic measures from its 100 day program initially. He also warned that aggressive policies against immigrants would likely have strong negative economic consequences for Saxony Anhalt, although these are difficult to quantify in advance.

Recent polling from Infratest dimap for MDR, WDR, and local newspapers shows the AfD leading with 41 percent, while the CDU follows at 24 percent. The party aims to provide the first Minister President of a federal state from its ranks.