German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday redoubled his efforts to push unpopular reforms to Europe’s largest economy after a far-right party scored a landslide victory in regional elections, with a very good chance of forming the first far-right government since the Nazi era.
Merz said his center-right Christian Democratic Union party was “deeply shocked” by what he described as “the most serious electoral defeat the CDU has suffered in years, in decades.” But he indicated that he was determined to remain in his position, and said that “surrender is not an option for me.”
The anti-immigration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) party fell short of a majority in Sunday’s election in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, which has gained popularity as the AfD eyed power there. Its regional branch is one of several groups considered by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to be a right-wing extremist group.
Merz says Germany will stick to its values and position towards Russia
The AfD’s victory represents a major distraction for Germany and Merz at a time when Europe faces many challenges, including ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, a suspected sabotage campaign targeting NATO countries, and difficult dealings with US President Donald Trump.
Merz said he wanted to assure Germany’s allies that “our institutions are flexible and stable” and that the country will adhere to its values and constitution after the AfD’s victory. “We know that Germany bears a special responsibility because of its history,” he said.
He pledged that he “will not budge one iota from my fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom against Russia now.” Germany is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in its war against Russia.
Because of Germany’s Nazi past, far-right movements have always been subject to intense scrutiny. Other major parties have refused to cooperate with the AfD in the so-called “firewall.” Unlike many countries in Europe, modern Germany has not yet had a far-right or right-wing populist party leading a national, state, or major city government.
Determination to continue reforms “without interruption”
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Merz vowed to weaken the AfD before coming to power last year, but instead saw a surge in support for the party.
The ruling coalition, which includes the Union bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party, has gained a reputation for quarrelsomeness and become deeply unpopular, as has Merz himself. The government is struggling to convince voters of its ability to jump-start the country’s chronically stagnant economy through potentially painful reforms, including the pension system.
But Merz insisted on Monday that “we need fundamental reforms in Germany.” He said it is a matter of “nothing less than the future of our country and the opportunities available to our children and grandchildren, and we must not squander them. That is why my insistence on continuing the path of reform continues.”
He recognized the need to “justify it, not only rationally, but also emotionally.”
Germany faces another regional election on September 20 – in Berlin and in another eastern state, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, where the AfD is also strong.
The Alternative for Germany party is searching for a way to gain power in the state of Saxony-Anhalt
While Merz continues to fend off resistance to reforms, the AfD – whose victory was welcomed by far-right parties across Europe – faces potentially difficult maneuvers to put its candidate for governor of Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, into power.
Siegmund had pushed for an absolute majority in the state legislature that would allow the AfD to avoid rejection by the main parties. After the vote, he noted that the AfD was still unwilling to compromise, insisting that “we do not want to become like the parties that were punished” by violating pre-election promises. He also rejected the idea of forming a minority government.
But he said he had a “very clear mandate to form the government” and that his party would reach out to other groups in the legislature and even to individual lawmakers. He added: “Our goal now is to build precisely this stable majority in the coming days and weeks.”
The Alternative for Germany party is three seats short of the majority. It could reach the hard-left BSW party, which won five seats. The two sides share a Russia-friendly path and oppose immigration, but disagree on some other issues.
The BSW criticized the “firewall” against the AfD and indicated again on Monday that it might allow Sigmund to become governor by abstaining from voting in a possible third round of voting to choose a new governor in the state legislature, in which a simple majority would be sufficient.
It is also possible that newly elected lawmakers from other parties could defect to the AfD, which would need just three to break ranks.
Forming a government other than the AfD will only be possible if all the other parties in the legislature work together. However, an alliance of any kind between these parties is unlikely and would be vulnerable to instability.
Cheering from Musk and right-wing populists
Billionaire Elon Musk congratulated the party on its election victory, saying: “Well done!” On his online platform X. Sigmund immediately thanked him for his support.
Trump posted a screenshot of the election forecast on his Truth Social platform without any comment.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Channel Dmitriev also said that “the AfD will take back Germany and Europe by leading the common-sense approach that the migrant-friendly and warmongering EU politicians considering Biden’s policies have tried to eliminate.”
The leaders of the right-wing populist parties in Spain and Portugal also congratulated the Alternative for Germany party.
The Polish Prime Minister was decisive. “In Poland, only idiots or traitors can rejoice over the victory of the AfD in Germany,” Donald Tusk wrote on X.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, whose country faces presidential elections next year in which the far-right is the main competitor, said that “the AfD’s program is a betrayal of the European spirit” and that “our first responsibility is to resist the normalization of far-right ideas.”
Among voters who did not support the AfD, the reaction was one of profound dismay. Horst-Walter Börner, 86, from Magdeburg, who was born during World War II, expressed his shock.
“It’s terrible for us,” he said, saying the election was “fear-driven.” He said the AfD’s victory was expected because of the crowds it attracted during the election campaign, but said “this should never have happened.”
—Associated Press journalists Claudia Ciobano in Warsaw, Poland, and Kerstin Sopke in Magdeburg, Germany, contributed to this report.
