CDU recognizes defeat for AfD in Saxony-Anhalt on “dark day”

“Hwho says this is a sad day for CDU. I say: but this is democracy”, said Sven Schulze on arriving at the post-election concentration of his party.

“We often had the wind in our favor” in the elections, declared the Christian Democratic leader of the federal state Saxony-Anhalt, congratulating AfD on its victory, in an intervention in which he refused to advance the CDU’s position on the formation of a government.

The regional conservative leader criticized the weight in these elections of the federal government's policies led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also of the CDU, and highlighted the increase in electoral participation, which amounted to about 80%, plus 20 percentage points that five years ago.

“The people sent a message, and now we have to respond to that message, not just in Saxony-Anhalt (...). It is a defeat for us”, Schulze admitted, referring to a campaign “extremely difficult and intense”.

“A campaign like this has no precedent. I do not think it is so in any other German state”, he said.

The spokesman of the CDU federal parliamentary group in the lower chamber of the German Parliament, Thorsten Frei, stressed that this is “a decisive moment” for Germany.

“ We have never been in a situation where a party classified as far-right by the internal intelligence agency has won a majority,” he noted, before asking for “respect” for the result.

Frei defended the “necessary” reforms promoted by the CDU Government at federal level and reminded everyone that the Bundestag, and consequently the Chancellor, is elected for a four-year term.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” he warned.

The historic Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, which governs in coalition with the CDU at federal level, recognized the “dramatic nature” of the results in Saxony-Anhalt, according to its Secretary-General, Tim Kluessendorf.

The Social Democratic leader stressed that his party managed to maintain support in that federated state, but admitted that this “is not a great success”.

Kluessendorf therefore defended the formation of a “democratic majority” against AfD, although he admitted that it will be “very, very difficult” to form government in Saxony-Anhalt.

According to projections released after the closing of the polls, AfD was the most voted party, with between 44% and 44.5% of the votes.

The far-right party will still have to wait to see if this result will allow it to govern the former state of the Democratic Republic of Germany (DRA), which would be unprecedented.

If these numbers are confirmed in the vote, the far right will have 39 seats in the regional parliament and 42 for an absolute majority.

Secondly, according to the projection of the Infratest Dimap polling institute, quoted by the public television ARD, and the estimate of the ZDF, was the CDU, by Chancellor Merz, with 18.5% of the votes, which represents a drop of 18.6 percentage points in relation to the last elections in 2021, and should translate into about 16 representatives in the regional parliament.

To conquer nine places each, the party arises The Left (9.5%), the historical SPD (8%) and the Greens, with 9.0%, according to the estimates cited by the ARD.

The left-wing populist party Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) gets 5% of the vote, minimum threshold to enter the state parliament.

The FDP, a liberal party, must remain outside the state parliament, with between 2% and 3% of the votes.