THE FAR-RIGHT ALTERNATIVE for Germany (AfD) party surged to a resounding victory in a regional election on Sunday, but fell short of winning a majority in its quest to form the country\u2019s first far-right state government since the Second World War.<\/p>\n
The party of Germany\u2019s unpopular leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, slumped to a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt as the anti-migration and Russia-friendly AfD\u2019s candidate for governor said \u201cwe have written history\u201d and the party has a clear mandate to govern.<\/p>\n
Ulrich Siegmund (35) told public broadcaster ARD that voters had sent a signal that \u201cthings cannot carry on like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that \u201ca very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz\u201d.<\/p>\n
AfD was seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern alone and overcome the so-called firewall of mainstream parties\u2019 refusal to work with them.<\/p>\n
They fell three seats short, with 39 members in an 83-member parliament.<\/p>\n
Siegmund said it would not engage in \u201cgames\u201d such as a minority government, but it was not evident how its divided opponents could assemble any stable government without it.<\/p>\n
A first state government would be the biggest prize in the anti-migration party\u2019s 13-year history, at a time of widespread discontent with a national government that has yet to persuade voters it can get the country\u2019s sluggish economy moving.<\/p>\n
The result is a blow to Merz, whose centre-right party has led Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years.<\/p>\n
Unlike other countries in Europe, unified Germany has not had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state or major-city government.<\/p>\n
AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany\u2019s national parliament and is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east, where Saxony-Anhalt is located.\n<\/p>\n
Right-wing extremism\u00a0<\/p>\n
Its regional branch in Saxony-Anhalt is one of several classified as a proven right-wing extremist group by the domestic intelligence agency, which points to members\u2019 denigration of migrants from Muslim countries among other things.<\/p>\n
The party promotes a policy of \u2018remigration\u2019,\u00a0a far-right term for ethnic cleansing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the policy was deemed too extreme<\/a> by another major player in far-right European politics, Marine Le Pen\u2019s National Rally party in France, after a report by Correctiv<\/a> exposed a secret meeting between AfD members, neo-Nazis and like-minded businesspeople, at which \u2018remigration\u2019 was the main talking point.\u00a0<\/p>\n