September 6th is fast approaching, and depending on what side of the cordon sanitaire you are on, you are either dreading it or giddy with anticipation.
That is the day the Germans living in Saxony-Anhalt, in the former East Germany, go to the polls to elect their next state government, and the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party is holding a commanding lead so far. So much so that the party's leader, Alice Weidel, is predicting a clean-cut victory for her upstarts. One that will give them an outright majority and eliminate the coalition governments that have managed to cut the AfD out of power, regardless of what their seat numbers in the legislature would indicate.
Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is banking on a breakthrough in next month's state election to build momentum for a future national victory, the party's co-leader Alice Weidel said on Sunday."We will form the government in Saxony-Anhalt," Weidel said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, referring to the eastern German state that votes on September 6.While the party's lead candidate in the state has stated the AfD's aim to govern alone there, Weidel went further, expressing confidence the party will secure the necessary majority to govern in the state alone.A recent Infratest dimap poll shows AfD with 41% support, well ahead of 24% for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats CDU.Despite its strong showing in some past regional elections, AfD has yet to enter a state or federal government because all other major parties have ruled out cooperation with it.
The ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing its sternest test two weeks from now, after a year of 'saving democracy' from the rising populist party by completely isolating it from the growing share of government it has earned in every election.
AfD now leads the CDU nationally in polls, 27% to 22%, with the other traditional government parties trailing behind.
...Weidel said the CDU's refusal to work with the AfD — a policy known in Germany as the "firewall" — was weakening the conservatives and would eventually put her party in a position to govern nationally.
"The CDU will never win another federal election," she said.The AfD has long argued that the "firewall" was undemocratic, while the CDU says the policy is necessary because AfD poses a threat to Germany's fundamental principles and its constitutional order.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the danger is that the AfD is dangerously close to breaking the glass coalition ceiling and governing independently of partners.
They have a young, charismatic candidate on the ballot there, Ulrich Siegmund, who has tapped into a cheerful mode of advertising, and the party has a spirited, hopeful slogan to run on:
ALLES IST MÖGLICH ~ Everything is possible
Ulrich hops on what is apparently an East German icon - a blue Simson moped known as the 'Vespa of East Germany' - for his Vision 2026 ads (this one is auto-dubbed, so annoying, but you get the gist)...
...as well as leading rallies around Saxony-Anhalt itself.
The sound of thousands of engines filled the festival grounds of the medieval German village of Quedlinburg on Sunday as Ulrich Siegmund, the far-right AfD's charismatic candidate in a key vote next month, led out a motorcade atop a blue moped.Nearly 5,000 people turned out for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaign event-cum-motorcycle show ahead of elections in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, in which it could become the first far-right party to take power at a state level since the Nazi era.The AfD has seized onto "the Vespa of East Germany," the beloved Simson brand, to appeal to the strong sense of East German identity that lingers 35 years after reunification, even as a significant number of young people, including Siegmund, never experienced a divided Germany themselves.
"My parents instilled in me an understanding of everything that happened back then. Not everything was wonderful," the 35-year-old Siegmund told the crowd on Sunday."But this Simson culture represents individual freedom of movement. It stands for a time when we in this country stuck together," he said.The AfD's manifesto "Vision 2026" argues that eastern Germany should be seen as a model for the rest of the country rather than a disadvantaged region.
It's brilliant, and totally the opposite vibe of the dour, dire, anti-immigrant, anti-constitutional, scary AfD mainstream parties have been warning the German people about.
Siegmund is drawing thousands to his appearances.
🚨WOW: This is the support on the ground for the AfD party in Saxony-Anhalt ahead of the State Election
— Inevitable West (@Inevitablewest) August 23, 2026
These scenes are unprecedented.
Germany is going to be rocked on 6th September. It could be the trigger. 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/doVVKMYp0h
This is rock star territory.
This is Ulrich Siegmund, a German patriot of @AfD. He is widely supported by Germans, and in two weeks, he could win in Saxony-Anhalt and change course of history in Germany and Europe. We support him; you can too, if you wish. Remember, only AfD can save Germany and Europe. pic.twitter.com/XoqKz43TE2
— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) August 23, 2026
Naturally, the panic across not only Germany but all of woke Europe has them reaching for smelling salts and hyperventilating into paper bags.
Check out The Guardian, wondering if icing AfD out maybe, schmabye went a little bit too far.
Germany’s firewall was meant to hold the far right at bay. It may have done the reverse
In just over two weeks’ time, Saxony-Anhalt – home to historic timber-framed houses, the dramatic Harz mountains and the birthplace of Martin Luther – will hold what could prove one of the most significant state elections in Germany’s postwar history.
The vote, on 6 September, could see a far-right party whose local branch is officially classified by the country’s domestic intelligence service as “confirmed rightwing extremist” appoint a state premier and govern a state alone, for the first time.
That could have big consequences for both Germany and Europe. With more state elections a fortnight later in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin, it could also end the consensus that, since the second world war, has kept the far right at bay in Germany.
Oh, I can't imagine that German citizens would mind watching as their votes and expressed wishes were completely ignored, election after election, can you?
Whoda thunk?
AND BREATHE
...In Saxony-Anhalt, the party – which dabbles in Nazi imagery, differentiates between “biological” and “passport” Germans, and whose rhetoric and policies are often way more extreme than many other EU far-right parties – is polling at up to 42%.
I can almost hear the wheezing as they think of everything they could possibly throw at them (no examples of the Nazi dabbling were included).
And, ZOMG! An AfD victory could 'disrupt CONSENSUS (!), 'weaken European unity (!)', and affect 'decision-making on environmental policy (!)'
OH, NOES
...AfD’s proposed state-level measures include revising the school history curriculum to emphasise Germany’s “achievements” over its wartime crimes, defunding anti-racism initiatives, removing pride flags and rewriting the mandates of public TV and radio.
An AfD government could exploit state-level public recruitment criteria and make political appointments favouring ideologically aligned candidates, and, more broadly, create an intimidating environment where state employees prefer silence to conflict.
At the federal level, winning a state government would also give the AfD seats in the Bundesrat upper house representing the states. That would not allow it to block legislation unilaterally, but it could table new policy initiatives and disrupt consensus.
On the EU stage, while the party is somewhat sidelined within parliament – it heads the uber-nationalist ESN group, including France’s Reconquest and Italy’s National Future – its increased influence in Germany would weaken European unity.
An increasingly fragmented German political landscape would undermine Berlin’s role as an engine of European integration, affecting decision-making in key areas such as environment policy (AfD rejects the need for climate action).
Yeah, this is every European Union advocate's worst nightmare, I guess, and I'm sure the more they think about it, the more reasons to hate it they can come up with.
🚨🇩🇪Germans booed Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he came back from his vacation.
— Mario ZNA (@MarioBojic) August 22, 2026
While Germany's economy is collapsing and migrants are causing chaos, this man has time to sit in the sun and get a tan.
No wonder his approval rating is only 14%. pic.twitter.com/D7jXnHQ8Fp
For her part, Alice Weidel has come out swinging - we're getting rid of everything we can.
German AfD Leader Alice Weidel:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 23, 2026
Afghans will no longer be flown in, and the Syrians will all be returned to their homeland.
We have a total of 1.3 million Syrians among us. They are being diligently naturalized. Why is the German state naturalizing Syrians, anyway?
We were… pic.twitter.com/Xf6q4ajVG7
...We have a total of 1.3 million Syrians among us. They are being diligently naturalized. Why is the German state naturalizing Syrians, anyway?
We were told back then that if the reason for fleeing no longer exists, they would all be returned.
Nothing of the sort is happening.
Weidel is on the warpath in that interview, and it appears voters are ready for it.
...In her so-called TV-#Sommerinterview, she calls government politicians "flat pliers" and, among other topics, addresses the migration issue:
"It all starts with prevention.
We're saying very clearly, we're closing the borders.
And when I see something like what happened in Ceuta, then we're leaving Schengen!
This agreement will be terminated.
We will close them, we will leave Schengen, so that people like those from Ceuta can't even come to us anymore."...
...Furthermore, she wants to leave the Eurozone
But in actuality, the rise of AfD is pretty simply explained, especially in the context of a state in former East Germany.
THE SENSE THAT EVERYTHING'S GOING DOWN THE DRAIN
Pavel Polák, a former correspondent in Germany, analyses the situation in Český rozhlas:
“The AfD's success in the east stems among other things from the fact that this party has tapped into the frustration that has built up over the years – resulting in particular from the feeling of being overlooked and patronised by the West, the poor economic situation and the failure to manage migration. The AfD has tapped into the ever-growing sense that everything is, quite literally, going down the drain, and that the parties which have been in power continuously have done absolutely nothing to stop this. ... It remains an indisputable fact, however, that after more than three decades in power, the traditional democratic parties have effectively lost eastern Germany.”
And you can't really argue with them.
So how are things going in Climate Obsessed Germany?
— Latimer Alder (@latimeralder) August 23, 2026
Oops pic.twitter.com/t2QZb7kDZH
Who wouldn't want a little scooter ride with friends to clear their head and enjoy the sunshine?
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