# AfD secures 43.8 per cent in Saxony-Anhalt regional election

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/germanys-afd-achieves-historic-election-breakthrough-with-record-state-vote/
- Published: 2026-09-07T08:09:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-07T14:15:10+00:00
- Topics: Art, Culture, Elections, Europe, Politics, World

## Key points

- AfD wins 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt, its strongest result since 1945
- Result pressures Chancellor Merz's already fragile coalition government
- Trump and a Russian official both publicly reacted to the outcome

## Summary

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a landmark regional election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, taking 43.8 per cent of the vote against 17.2 per cent for the ruling Christian Democratic Union. It is the strongest showing for a hard-right nationalist party in Germany since the Nazi era ended in 1945, and although the AfD narrowly fell short of an outright majority, the result has rattled national politics, adding to the pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz's already unpopular coalition and prompting renewed reflection in a country still shaped by its Nazi past.

The vote drew attention well beyond Germany's borders. Donald Trump shared the exit poll on Truth Social, underscoring the ideological overlap between the AfD's "Germany for Germans" platform and his own MAGA movement, while Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, hailed the outcome as "historic" and declared Germany's government "discredited" and Merz "humiliated". Analysts noted the AfD's pro-Russia stance — including opposition to military aid for Ukraine and support for resuming Russian energy imports — as a further point of concern, given Germany's role as Ukraine's largest single donor and the economic strain its industry has faced since cutting Russian energy supplies in 2022.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Elon Musk and Europe’s hard right figures hail AfD’s ‘historic’ election win in German state as leader predicts Chancellor Merz will fall by Christmas](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16110859/Elon-Musk-Europes-hard-right-figures-hail-AfDs-historic-election-win-German-state-leader-predicts-Chancellor-Merz-fall-Christmas.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [BBC World: Europe wrestles with impact of historic regional gains for Germany’s AfD](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c986w38r4j5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.