Voters in eastern German state have blown up post-unification politics
The far-right AfD party has achieved significant electoral gains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, disrupting the traditional political dominance of the CDU and SPD. Voters cited cost-of-living concerns as a primary driver for this shift in political alignment.
Why it matters
The rise of the AfD in regional elections signals a major shift in German political stability and could influence future federal coalition strategies.
O n Sunday, voters in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt blew up post-unification German politics. And on Monday the mangled wreckage will fall on political Berlin.
Saxony-Anhalt is just a quarter the size of the island of Ireland, yet its 1.7 million voters – just 3 per cent of the total German electorate – have hit the reset button on politics in Europe’s largest country.
It is 36 years since East Germany joined a unified country along West German lines, importing its laws, norms and political system.
Since then power in Saxony-Anhalt was shared back and forth between centre-left Social Democratic Party and the centre-right Christian Democratic Union.
No more. Sunday’s results shatter old certainties without making clear the new political rules of engagement.
Also covering this story
10 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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AfD on track for first far-right postwar majority in Saxony-Anhalt
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