The right-wing AfD party (Alternative for Germany) achieved a significant victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election in Germany on September 6, 2026, with 43.8 percent of the votes. This result marks the highest vote share for this party to date.
However, it is still unclear who will take charge of the state, as the AfD has not secured an absolute majority. This massive victory for the AfD, whose Saxony-Anhalt branch is classified as an extremist right-wing group by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, has raised significant concerns among Germans.
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Reactions to the Election Results
Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor of Germany from the CDU party, stated the day after the election that he was shocked by the election results. He said, "Not only has something changed in Saxony-Anhalt, but changes have also occurred throughout Germany."
The CDU party lost more than half of its share compared to the previous election in Saxony-Anhalt, dropping from 37.1 percent in 2021 to 17.2 percent in 2026. Two weeks later, in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election on September 20, 2026, the CDU failed to reach the 5 percent threshold to enter the parliament, securing only 4.9 percent of the votes.
Rise of Political Extremism
These elections indicate that parties at the extreme ends of the political spectrum in Germany are gaining strength. Germany has bitter experiences with extremist governments, including the Nazis who led the country into World War II and the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that ruled in East Germany.
In a monthly survey, the IPSOS institute reported that nearly one-fifth of Germans (18 percent) are concerned about the rise of extremism in the country. Additionally, 82 percent of respondents expressed that they feel Germany is heading in the wrong direction.
Christian Pahl, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, pointed out various methods that can be used to gauge people's political sentiments, including quantitative and qualitative surveys and online content analysis.
Pahl also referred to two types of social polarization: emotional and ideological polarization. These two types of polarization can impact the ability of democratic parties to reach agreements and collaborate.
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