MAGDEBURG, Germany, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's victory in Sunday's state election in Saxony-Anhalt has sent shockwaves through Germany's political establishment.
The AfD secured a record 43.8 percent of the vote, making it the strongest force in the state parliament. Meanwhile, the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered a heavy blow, with its share of the vote plummeting to 17.4 percent from 37.1 percent in the last election in 2021.
DEEP-ROOTED ANXIETY
Sunday's election reshaped the eastern German state's political map, making it possible for the AfD to run a German state for the first time.
According to official vote counts, the AfD can secure 39 seats in the 83-seat state parliament, just three seats shy of an absolute majority.
According to German public broadcaster ARD, voters mostly endorsed the AfD's hardline stance on migration and approved the party's opposition to weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
Based on such promises, the AfD more than doubled its votes this year compared with the last state parliament election five years ago.
In addition, the party emerged as the strongest force across all age demographics, mobilizing a massive number of former non-voters while drawing significant support away from the CDU.
The AfD's voters told Xinhua that they are worried about their future, as the economic situation worsens and they feel their tax money is being spent in the wrong places.
Bastian, a 40-year-old AfD supporter, voiced his hope to "get the old Germany back."
From the voters' perspective, the CDU has clearly lost ground in terms of economic competence, while the AfD has made massive gains, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, places heavily impacted by ongoing depopulation, according to ARD.
COALITION DEADLOCK
After the election, the AfD's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, said he is open to forming a ruling coalition with other parties in a bid to form a stable government.
But he also stressed that he would not abandon basic policy positions to do so.
Meanwhile, other major parties have repeatedly ruled out the possibility of entering a coalition with the AfD.
If the CDU wishes to keep the AfD out of power, it will be forced to form a highly complicated alliance spanning the political spectrum, potentially including the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, and even the Left party.
It is widely believed that forming stable coalitions will be difficult.
It seems clearer that the AfD is shaking up an increasingly fragmented political landscape in Germany, said economic research institute ING Think.
The institute added that the election results also show that last-moment mobilization against the AfD, as witnessed in other states before, no longer works.
FEDERAL AND EUROPEAN FALLOUT
The political earthquake in Magdeburg is already rattling Berlin.
Head of the Chancellery Nina Warken called the election outcome a "watershed moment" for the CDU, describing it on broadcaster ZDF as a "very, very difficult result."
Warken also insisted that the federal government would resolutely press ahead with its planned reform agenda.
The unprecedented results are expected to intensify internal debates within the federal government over its handling of key voter concerns, particularly regarding economic stagnation and the wealth gap between Germany's eastern and western regions, according to political observers.
ING Think noted a trend in multiple European countries of "an established right-wing party, a crumbling of the political center and a fragmented political landscape."
The potential of the AfD's wider impact depends on how far Siegmund's campaign recipe in Saxony-Anhalt can be replicated and if the AfD can now turn electoral backing into durable governing power, said London-based think tank Chatham House. ■