Voters in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt head to the polls on Sunday in what could turn out to be a historic election, as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) seeks to take power for the first time.
Voting is under way in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt that could see the Alternative for Germany (AfD) become the first far-right party to take power at a state level since World War II. Recent surveys place AfD at 40 percent, ahead of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) at 23 percent. AfD has led comfortably in the pre-election opinion polls for months and has a chance at winning an absolute majority if several smaller parties fail to clear the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament. A CDU-led administration under incumbent state premier Sven Schulze is the most likely outcome if the AfD does not win a majority. Weeks of coalition talks could follow the vote, depending on which parties surpass the 5 percent minimum.
AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund, who was previously a member of the CDU, predicted gaining an absolute majority that would lead the anti-establishment party to national victory in 2029. He was named Germany’s most dangerous man
by the influential magazine Der Spiegel. It was the others who erected the firewalls,
he told German tabloid Bild. If no one wants to work with us, then we’ll just have to do it alone.
Voters in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt head to the polls on Sunday in what could turn out to be a historic election, as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) seeks to take power for the first time. The anti-immigration party has been polling above 40% and is hoping to secure an unprecedented absolute majority of seats in the state parliament in Magdeburg. This would allow it to bypass the mainstream parties’ infamous “firewall” against cooperation with the far right, catapulting the AfD and its charismatic lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund into government.
Saxony-Anhalt and Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government in Berlin
Polls have shown the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) – who lead the existing three-party coalition in Saxony-Anhalt – in a distant second place to the AfD, which has benefited from widespread dissatisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government in Berlin. Whether the AfD can secure a governing majority will likely hinge on whether a trio of left-wing parties – The Left, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens – pass the 5% threshold needed to win seats. The AfD’s rise in the polls has come even as its branch in Saxony-Anhalt is under surveillance by intelligence services due to its “confirmed” extremist views. The party’s manifesto includes setting up a task force to speed up deportations, reviving school exchanges with Russia, and an end to new wind farms.
Ulrich Siegmund and the Rise of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt
Nearly a century after the Nazis shut down the world-famous Bauhaus school of design, it has once again become a cultural battleground between Germany’s establishment and the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has called the art movement an aberration of modernism.
Founded in 1919, Bauhaus blurred lines between art and industry, influencing global design to this day. It remains a cultural icon that attracts a steady stream of visitors to its iconic school building and the museum in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt. Attacks on Bauhaus by Alternative for Germany, also known as AfD, come as Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany is about to vote in an election that could see a far-right party take control of one of the country’s states for the first time since World War II. AfD hopes to gain an absolute majority in the state legislature in the election on Sunday, an outcome that would shake German politics and possibly have repercussions for the region’s cultural freedom. Barbara Steiner, the director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation poses for a photo at the entrance of the main building of the former design school, which was called an aberration of modernism
by Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, in Dessau, Germany, Aug. 17, 2026.
Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and Barbara Steiner
Under the smiling and telegenic 35-year-old leader Ulrich Siegmund, the party has been polling comfortably ahead for months, and there is a genuine chance the AfD could take an absolute majority on Sunday evening – particularly if several smaller parties fail to clear Germany’s 5 percent threshold to enter parliament. Polls opened at 8am local time (0600 GMT) and some 1.7 million voters have until 6pm (1600 GMT) to cast their ballots, with first projections expected shortly after. The AfD’s key campaign promises include a remigration and deportation offensive
, a ban on LGBTQ pride rainbow flags at public schools and an end to new wind farms. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency considers the AfD chapter Siegmund represents as right-wing extremist
with links to ethno-nationalist groups and think-tanks. Siegmund was present at a 2023 secret meeting near Berlin where extreme right-wing activists discussed a radical “remigration” plan.
State Premier Sven Schulze and Christian Democrats
State Premier Sven Schulze from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) says the election in Saxony-Anhalt is a decision that will set the course for Germany.
Opinion polls in the state have put support for the AfD, which wants to restrict immigration, restore ties with Russia and quit the euro, at more than 40%, 15 to 20 points ahead of the CDU, which rules in a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and pro-free-market Free Democrats (FDP). Most other parties running have refused to cooperate with the AfD, designated by the local office of Germany’s domestic intelligence service as extremist right-wing, meaning that a CDU-led coalition may keep it from power in Saxony-Anhalt. But the size of its support, fuelled by disillusion with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s unpopular government in Berlin, has laid bare how far German politics has moved in the decade or so since the party’s formation in 2013.
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