The AfD is appealing to lawmakers from Merz’s conservatives to support its bid to rule the eastern state, in what would be the first time a far-right party takes power at state level in postwar Germany.
The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD won nearly 44 percent of the vote, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among Germany’s neighbours, France and Poland, and elsewhere.
However, the party – which wants to deport immigrants, halt support for Ukraine and restore ties with Moscow – fell short of an absolute majority in the state legislature, winning 39 of the 83 seats, and hopes to poach individual conservative lawmakers.
The election result could test the longstanding refusal of Germany’s mainstream parties, including Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU), to work with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall”.
The AfD says this is undemocratic.
“This shakes our party to its very foundations,” Merz said, according to the Bild newspaper.
“We are all deeply shocked,” he added later at a press conference, describing the result as his party’s worst election result in decades.
While sounding chastened and vowing to try harder to connect with voters, Merz batted away suggestions that he might resign, saying he would broadly stick with his government’s reform agenda.
Merz, whose own approval ratings have sunk to record lows, faces more state elections in the coming weeks and into next year, though he hopes his mix of reforms and higher spending in some areas will revive growth in Europe’s largest economy.
Suggesting that the AfD win was cheered in Moscow, Merz characterised the current political moment as a fight for the survival of Western values. He also defended a decision, taken last year, to borrow hundreds of billions of euros to spend on defence, saying the unity of the Nato alliance was at stake.
“Giving up is not an option for me,” he said.
The AfD’s national co-leader Tino Chrupalla appealed to CDU lawmakers to make a “centre-right conservative majority” in Saxony-Anhalt possible.
“Partisan games really ought to be a thing of the past,” he told German radio, referring to the firewall policy.
The only German party that has signalled readiness to work with the AfD is the populist left-wing BSW.
The BSW shares the AfD’s hostility towards mass immigration, which it says undermines local workers’ rights, and also advocates for ending Germany’s support for Ukraine and restoring ties with Moscow.
Both parties characterise sanctions on Russia as needlessly self-sabotaging, denying German businesses access to Russia’s vast cheap energy resources on which Germany’s export-driven economy was able to thrive for decades.
“Peace in Europe” was the second biggest factor driving which way people voted in Saxony-Anhalt, according to numbers from the ARD broadcaster.
But Merz told reporters that the AfD’s success was no reason to change course.
“I will not deviate by even a millimetre from my fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom, especially now, against Russia,” he said.
“If we stop supporting Ukraine, the situation will not improve by tomorrow, it will only get worse. The Russian leadership aims to destabilise the system of values underpinning what we once called ‘the West’, a system of values that is non-negotiable.”
According to a breakdown of voters, the AfD was particularly popular among men, with 50 percent voting for the party compared to 39 percent of women. AfD voters also tended to be less economically secure and less educated. (Reuters)