The AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) succeeded in this. The far-right party won the presidency of the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt on Tuesday October 6. A first since 1945.
At the same time as this vote, hundreds of demonstrators in front of the parliament of Magdeburg, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the other region of the former East Germany where the AfD came in first, called on the other parties not to make an agreement with the far-right party.
“Never again, it’s in the past,” we can read on a sign held by a demonstrator, a reference to the Nazi period.
At the beginning of September, the AfD, an anti-immigration and pro-Russian party, narrowly missed an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt, capturing 39 of the 83 seats in its assembly, far ahead of Friedrich Merz’s conservatives.
Unprecedented results in post-war Germany and an earthquake for the chancellor, whose coalition with the social democrats is struggling to agree on reforms.
Historical parallel
The AfD followed up with a second victory in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (north-east), a new thunderbolt even if a left-wing coalition should ultimately govern.
MPs vote during the first session of the regional parliament in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on October 6, 2026. © Jan Woitas, Pool/AFP
On Tuesday, the election of the president of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt by the deputies allowed Tobias Rausch, a 35-year-old elected official, son of a regional party leader whose family was at the heart of suspicions of nepotism, to take the presidency of the regional Parliament.
Then, in December, the regional figurehead of the AfD, Ulrich Siegmund, will try to obtain the confidence of the assembly to take the head of the regional executive.
He wishes to be elected by the deputies in the first round, by an absolute majority. To do this, he will need to count on at least three defectors from other parties, although so far no party has agreed to collaborate with the AfD.
At the Landtag level, the AfD is expected to obtain the support of the pro-Russian far-left party BSW on Tuesday.
Thomas Schulze (l), head of the BSW parliamentary group, during the first session of the regional parliament in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, October 6, 2026. © Jan Woitas, Pool/AFP
During a press conference on Monday, the head of the BSW parliamentary group, Thomas Schulze, described as “shameful” the historical parallel drawn by the radical left Die Linke between the AfD and the Third Reich and explained his support for Tobias Rausch by the success of his party in the elections.
But the five elected officials of this formation still refuse for the moment to vote in favor of the election of Ulrich Siegmund as head of the regional executive.
No one will switch to the AfD
According to the regional press, the two parties have, however, agreed on possible areas of cooperation: the creation of a commission of inquiry into the management of the coronavirus by the authorities or even a reform of regional public broadcasting, accused of serving the traditional parties.
Ulrich Siegmund of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party casts his ballot during the first session of the Saxony-Anhalt regional parliament in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, October 6, 2026 © Jan Woitas / POOL/AFP
The AfD is also hunting on conservative lands, Ulrich Siegmund having confirmed contacts with certain CDU deputies.
“No one from the CDU will in any way move to the AfD,” assured outgoing Minister-President and regional leader of the conservatives Sven Schulze on Monday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
The president of the Landtag who will be appointed on Tuesday, has the role of directing the parliamentary sessions, via the “Council of Elders” which sets the agenda and debates procedural questions, as well as taking care of the administration of the assembly.
In an inaugural speech to the Landtag, the leader of Die Linke, Eva Von Angern, warned Ulrich Siegmund against “the drunkenness of power” and recalled that the regional Constitutional Court could act as a counterweight to its decisions.
She also cited an article in the Saxony-Anhalt Constitution, which prohibits tolerating “the resurgence and dissemination of Nazi ideology, the glorification of the Nazi regime, as well as racist and anti-Semitic activities.”
A secret ballot to elect the president and vice-presidents of the assembly takes place immediately.
Across Germany as a whole, the far-right party surpassed the 30% mark for the first time in a poll published on Monday.
