Upcoming Election Could Produce Modern Germany’s First Far-Right State Governor

MOESER — An election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday could produce the first far-right state governor in the country’s post-World War II history, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his unpopular national government struggle to dispel what he has called “widespread moroseness.”

Several polls show a large lead for the anti-migration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, ahead of the vote for the state legislature. Taking control of a state government would mark the biggest prize in the party’s 13-year history and deliver a political shock to Germany, as well as at least a symbolic blow to Merz.

In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is seeking an absolute majority. That would overcome the so-called “firewall” of mainstream parties’ refusal to work with the AfD, whose regional branch is one of several classified by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as a proven right-wing extremist group. The AfD vehemently rejects accusations of extremism.

The party’s campaign slogan is “Everything is possible.”

“This is a historic opportunity that we have here in Saxony-Anhalt,” its candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, told The Associated Press at a campaign event in the small town of Moeser, where supporters lined up to meet the charismatic 35-year-old over beer and sausages.

Recent polling has put the AfD around 42 percent, roughly double the support for Merz’s Christian Democratic Union. Other parties, including the Left, Social Democrats and Greens, trail further behind.