AFD HITS 44% IN SAXONY-ANHALT.
Three seats short of a majority. Merz’s camp collapsed. Europe flinched.
Desk file · 8 SEP 2026 · 08:12 GMT
Alternative for Germany took about 44 percent in Sunday’s state vote in Saxony-Anhalt. Official counting put the party list near 43.8 percent. That is more than double its last result in the eastern state of 2.1 million people.
The party is heading for 39 seats in an 83-seat chamber — three short of a majority. State leader Ulrich Siegmund called it sensational and claimed a mandate to govern. He said he does not intend to lead a minority government.
This has changed not only Saxony-Anhalt, but Germany as a whole. We are all profoundly shocked.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats collapsed in the chamber that they had run for 24 years. Reporting put the CDU on 15 seats, down from 40, with about 17 percent of the list vote. Merz said the result had changed not only Saxony-Anhalt but Germany as a whole.
The firewall still stands in public. AfD offered talks from 8 September, naming the CDU and BSW. France and Poland flagged alarm. Analysts called the night an omen for other European contests next year.
Merz’s camp is the story behind the story. An unpopular chancellor, a halved machine in Magdeburg, and a far-right party three seats from running an eastern state. That is the file Europe woke up to.
Filed from German election reporting 6–8 September 2026 and NYT analysis. Official results: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent counts.
