On Sunday, the good citizens in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt finally went to the polls in the first major regional elections of the cycle, and it turned into every bit the barnburner it had promised to be.
I'll cut straight to the chase on this one - by the end of Sunday night, the Alternativ for Germany (AfD) Party had managed to corral 39 of the 83 seats in the parliament there, just three seats shy of the outright majority needed to govern independently, and vastly outnumbering all comers.
They shocked the world and rocked the German political establishment, even though polls had been lighting the way for months.
Denial wasn't just a river in Egypt for the mainstream status quo until it smacked them hard in the face on Sunday night. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party of current German Chancellor Friedrich Merz collapsed in a puddle of goo from its former perch of 37 percent to a minor-league 18 percent. They now hold only 15 seats, dwarfed by AfD's gains, which doubled their number of seats and then some.
Oh, it was a crushing embarrassment for the ruling party.
🇩🇪 AfD has made history in Saxony-Anhalt, surging to around 44% and coming within touching distance of an absolute majority.
— Europa.com (@europa) September 6, 2026
The CDU collapsed from 37% to about 18%.
Now the only way to keep AfD out of government may be a stretched anti-AfD coalition of CDU, SPD, Greens and the… pic.twitter.com/i2lxMCifW2
But parliamentary governments, being what they are, there's always a means to an end when elections and the electorate don't perform as the ruling parties wish they had.
This will be no different, as those missing three crucial seats still mean AfD needs cooperation from the other parties if it is to govern with the majority of seats citizens awarded it.
The hissy fits were in full flower almost immediately.
🇩🇪 German Chancellor Merz:
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 7, 2026
"I naturally ask myself how it could have come this far, what the reasons are that we allowed right-wing populism, and, in large parts, right-wing extremist populism, to come this far."
The very reason the AfD won is that you didn't implement the…
The chancellor himself went into full 'this can't happen' meltdown, and his little fist-shaking, red-faced tirade needs to be taken as a precursor to what is already being planned.
He can talk and they can clap , but the voters (and members) are leaving in droves.
— Jo Bhakdi (@JOBhakdi) September 7, 2026
It’s called Democracy and they have failed to deliver for the German people.
And leave the mainstream parties in droves, they did.
AFD is the largest party among every age group. The only group keeping them from winning an outright majority is voters over 70 https://t.co/YYZGr1N2Uh
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) September 6, 2026
The working class bailed.
The phrase 'luxury beliefs' springs to mind.
— EscapeFromUtopia (@utopia_escape) September 8, 2026
And had not mail-in ballots skewed some results, the outcome might have been even more catastrophic for the CDU coalition.
So strange how that conveniently happens no matter where you live on the planet.
"Interesting fact: without mail-in ballots, the AfD would have won 51% of the vote and secured an absolute majority.
— Martin Sellner (@MartinSellner_) September 7, 2026
Mail-in ballots made up 25.7% of all votes cast.
This system is easily manipulated and mail-in voting should be banned everywhere. pic.twitter.com/loyO47ExTr
In the immediate aftermath of the shock, media and pundits across Europe have been giddily mixing in the NAZI! NAZI! NAZI! label with any mention of AfD's victory and the possibility of their governing moving forward, as if they realized that 'far-right' just didn't have the boogeyman umph it used to have as far as scaring squeamish voters off.
Even our major networks got their digs in.
Alarm bells are ringing across Europe after a landslide election victory puts the far-right on the brink of holding power in a German state for the first time since the Nazis. https://t.co/rGUJGSg5eY
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 7, 2026
Both AfD leader Alice Weidel and Elon Musk took exception to CBS's reporting.
Germany has found itself in a state of shock after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-immigration and socially conservative party, surged to a historic victory in Sunday’s regional election in Saxony-Anhalt. pic.twitter.com/uqK37yo2cA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 7, 2026
Everyone conveniently forgets Hitler was a Lefty.
NAZIS! are always good for scare traction, right?
It's also helping clear a path for the next steps to ban the AfD as a political party, whose efforts had languished some because it was such a radical thing to do for a movement that many people seemed to support, while still supporting the central government parties.
They've started using the German state news programs to helpfully explain the AfD and why it's a bad thing to newcomers.
🇩🇪🚨‼️ INCLUSIVE NEWS
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) September 8, 2026
Germany has a news show for people who don’t understand German or are slow.
In this news show they slowly explain basic things in simple words and short sentences.
Here they explain the AfD election win in Saxony-Anhalt in very simple words, they even… pic.twitter.com/8xvcgnSHeJ
And now that those centrist coalition partners have been trounced and are in a mad panic to put this populist beast down, and quickly, before they can be buried further as the national elections approach, they are working the legal and parliamentary angles to do it.
Merz alluded to as much when he said he would not allow nationalism to take hold in Germany...
🇩🇪🔴JUST IN: After the AfD's victory, a top CDU politician is now calling for the first steps towards an AfD ban.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 8, 2026
North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) is also the first senior CDU figure to call for a working group that could recommend a ban of the party.… pic.twitter.com/ITOGZ5sXAQ
...“I said something today, but I don't think any CDU member has said it publicly yet: That I am in favor of appointing this working group, which will then do this work.”
Wüst has already repeatedly referred to the AfD as a "Nazi party." North Rhine-Westphalia itself faces a state election in April 2027.
While the AfD nearly obtained an absolute majority with 43.8% in the Saxony-Anhalt election, Wüst's own party saw a historic crash, with its support cut in half to 17.2%.
If the working group’s examination reveals that the AfD could be banned, that would be a "command to protect this constitution."
“If, after an examination, the following is on the table: This party can be banned, then this ban procedure must be initiated. For me, that's relatively clear. But step by step," he said.
Beyond his position as minister-president, there is also speculation that Wüst himself is a strong front-runner to replace Merz.
...and was pretty menacing when talking to party loyalists.
Amazing how leftists across the world so easily abandon "democracy" when it stops going their way.
— Bobby Gould (@Smith4Gm) September 7, 2026
...@bundeskanzler "We have the instruments for it. We will defend our values." Is Merz hinting at a party ban for @AfD?
A prominent politician from @cducsu comments on the scene: "That is the last photo of this kind."
The CDU is reportedly drafting legislation to circumvent and blunt the AfD's appeal through new laws and restrictions in the meantime. Things they promised to do ages ago that led to the rise of the populist movement to begin with.
Germany’s ruling conservative party is drawing up plans to overhaul the country’s liberal citizenship laws to fight back against the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Senior figures in Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are discussing a ban on dual citizenship and tougher language requirements to counter the hard-Right party.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Günter Krings, a senior CDU MP, said previous governments had made gaining German citizenship “too fast and too easy”.
“Naturalisation should only be the last step at the end of an integration process into our workforce, society and constitutional order,” he said. “We cannot accept that people live in a parallel society and want to be German citizens at the same time.”
Oh, voters will see through those efforts like glass. And it may well be too little, too late for rehabilitative efforts in any event, as the AfD is surging nationally as the CDU's charred feathers leave a descending trail of smoke headed toward the distant horizon.
CDU falls below 20% nationwide in latest German election poll.
— Jo Bhakdi (@JOBhakdi) September 8, 2026
This is important because there is a theory (that I also subscribe to) about German politics that once AfD is over 30% and CDU under 20%, a tipping point is reached from that on the "muh far right" narrative will… pic.twitter.com/CkMwWmi0Y0
...on the "muh far right" narrative will implode across the board.
Because calling the largest party in a country that is 50% larger than the #2 far right is too absurd even for the public broadcasting machine. It's also too openly anti-democratic, since it tries to defame the largest voter block in the country.
After the 44% Earthquake in Sachsen-Anhalt, the polls have the treacherous CDU now at 19.5%, and the AfD at 29%.
From my favorite German blogger:
just a picture of Angela Merkel enjoying dinner at her favourite local Chinese place while her party burns to the ground. pic.twitter.com/WuR7NmZQeA
— eugyppius (@eugyppius1) September 6, 2026
And now we wait.
Does Merz act on the calls to ban the AfD outright? That would seem a perilous course to steer for a chancellor sitting at 13 percent popularity as the opposition soars.
CDU in Sachsen-Anahlt were polling at 22-23% before the vote – slightly above their nationwide average. Yet they got 17.2% of the vote. Who doesn't believe that the nationwide polls are also substantially overstating Union support? We're talking about a 17% party now. https://t.co/ARBWmGgWn8
— eugyppius (@eugyppius1) September 7, 2026
The AfD has to have a partner to rule Saxony-Anhalt with, but who will work with them, and, just as importantly, who would the AfD be willing to work with?
...Now, one option involves a minority government led by the AfD, in which it would need to secure support from other parties to advance its policies.
On behalf of the CDU, the party's secretary-general, Franziska Hoppermann, categorically ruled out a coalition: "There will be no cooperation with the far left or the far right."
AfD's leader in Saxony-Anhalt has publicly ruled out one of the lower-tier parties already, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)...
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 6, 2026
The leader of AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, rejects the BSW’s coalition proposal.
BSW suggests that they can rule together by appointing a technocratic non-partisan state leader.
Siegmund says that there could be a snap election instead in which he says the… pic.twitter.com/rMvcgEIMWX
...Siegmund says that there could be a snap election instead in which he says the AfD would win 50%-55% of the votes.
...but many observers believe this is more a case of negotiating through the media. BSW has suggested compromising with a non-partisan technocratic leader, which would be a stupid move for AfD, squandering its tremendous vote advantage. Why on earth should they give up their rightfully gained leadership?
So the negotiations go on, while Merz and Co. sweat, squirm, and plot, and the rest of progressive Europe rend their clothes and tear at their hair.
It ain't over 'til it's over.
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