German Media: Saxony-Anhalt State Election: AfD Secures Overwhelming Victory, But Whether It Can Govern Remains Uncertain

The highly anticipated state parliamentary election in Saxony-Anhalt, located in eastern Germany, took place on Sunday (September 6). The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as the clear frontrunner in the state parliament, yet the composition of the future government remains undecided.

Campaigning in Saxony-Anhalt and the potential future governing coalition have attracted unprecedented attention. This is because the far-right AfD might achieve its first-ever opportunity to govern a German federal state. Previous polling data showed the party consistently maintaining support above 40%.

According to preliminary exit polls released late on local time, the AfD secured an overwhelming victory with 44.2% of the vote. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which had previously led the state government, saw its share halved, securing only 18% of the vote; the Social Democrats (SPD) received 9%, the Greens 8.6%; the Left Party also garnered 9%; the Sahra-Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) obtained 5.1%; while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) won just 2%, falling short of the 5% threshold required to enter parliament.

The current government in the state is a coalition of the CDU, SPD, and FDP.

If the Sahra-Wagenknecht Alliance maintains more than 5% in the final results and thus gains seats in the parliament for allocation purposes, the AfD will be unable to secure an absolute majority. Based on preliminary vote counts around 8:30 p.m. on the 6th, this outcome appears highly likely. Without a majority, the AfD would need to seek coalition partners in order to form a governing administration.

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During the campaign, all other parties made it clear they were unwilling to form a coalition with the AfD. Even the AfD’s state chair candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, recently reiterated that he would only consider running for state governor if his party wins an absolute majority and can govern alone. However, during an interview with Germany’s ARD television network on election night, he softened this stance.

Siegmund stated, “We remain open to cooperation with any force willing to join us in achieving a fundamental political transformation of the nation.” Yet he emphasized that his party would never compromise on core principles: “There are issues where compromise is absolutely out of the question.”

Excluding the AfD, another possibility would be a minority government formed by the CDU in alliance with several other parties. However, given the CDU’s refusal to cooperate with the Left Party, even if it allied with every other party, its seat distribution might still fall short compared to the AfD.

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Therefore, even after official vote counting concludes later in the evening and the seat distribution becomes clearer, it remains uncertain which party could attempt, and whether it could succeed in, forming a government — a process expected to be extremely challenging.

The voter turnout for this state election reached 78.1%, significantly higher than the 60% recorded in the previous election in 2021.

Source: DW

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875634063488011/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.