German press speaks of “earthquake” after historic victory of the AfD

The newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung opens the cover with a direct title: “AfD gewinnt in Sachsen-Anhalt” (“AfD wins in Saxony-Anhalt”). The newspaper points out that the far right formation was for the first time the most voted force in the state and achieved, according to the first projection, 44% of the votes, the best result of the AfD in a German regional election.

In a second analysis, Süddeutsche Zeitung writes “AfD stark bei Landtagswahl in Sachsen-Anhalt: Sieben Erkenntnisse aus der Prognose” (“AfD strong in the regional elections of Saxony-Anhalt: seven projection conclusions”), highlighting that the formation was close to an absolute majority and that “Kanzler Merz steht voinem großen Problem” (“The Chancellor Merz is facing a major problem”).

Zeit puts the result in the context of federal policy with the title “Ob AfD-Beben oder Zerreißprobe – für Merz wird es brenzlig” (“Be it an earthquake of the AfD or proof of rupture — for Merz the situation becomes dangerous”). The analysis highlights the victory of the AfD, the defeat of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the impact that the result may have on Friedrich Merz.

The same title is reproduced by Süddeutsche Zeitung in a report from the German agency dpa. The text considers that an absolute majority of the AfD would provoke a “Beispielloses Polit-Beben”, i.e. an “unprecedented political earthquake”, and analyses Merz’s difficulties with the results.

The ZDF, through the ZDFheute, summarizes the result with the title “Wahl in Sachsen-Anhalt: Siegmund und Schulze haben gewählt” in its live coverage, but the electoral update highlights that the AfD is clearly ahead of the CDU and that the final distribution of seats will be decisive in determining whether the training achieves an absolute majority.

The ZDFheute also draws attention to the economic consequences of possible governance of the AfD. Economists and business leaders cited by public television warn about possible difficulties in attracting foreign workers and investment.

Bild highlights the size of AfD’s victory with the title “Wahl in Sachsen-Anhalt: AfD halbiert die CDU” — “Electitions in Saxony-Anhalt: AfD reduces CDU by half”. The newspaper speaks of a “shock” in Magdeburg and stresses that AfD has become, with great advantage, the main political force, while the CDU has suffered a strong defeat.

Another piece in the same newspaper questions the capacity of government formation, entitled “Sachsen-Anhalt: Von diesen Partien kommen die neuen AfD-Wähler” — “Saxony-Anhalt: from which parties come the new voters of AfD?” — analyzing the transfer of votes to the formation of Ulrich Siegmund.

The result now puts the formation of the next government at the centre of the coverage. AfD is clearly the most voted force, but the decisive question is whether it can achieve an absolute majority. Otherwise, the other parties will have to find a solution to form a government without a coalition with the far right.

The vote also represents a strong defeat for the CDU, from 37.1% in the elections from 2021 to around 18% in the first projections. The final configuration of parliament will be crucial to understand whether Sven Schulze can continue to lead the regional government or whether another solution is needed.