AfD more than doubles vote share in Sachsen-Anhalt election, sparking European alarm over far-right surge

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The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a historic victory in [Sachsen-Anhalt’s](en.wikipedia.org) state election, more than doubling its vote share and positioning itself to potentially form the next government, according to results reported on Sunday.
The AfD’s surge came at the expense of mainstream parties, with the CDU’s support halved and the SPD and Greens each polling around 8 to 9 percent. SPD co-leader Bärbel Bas framed her party’s result as stable, but critics noted the outcome reflected a broader rejection of traditional parties. The Greens’ co-leader, Felix Banaszak, acknowledged that tactical voters had helped his party clear the 5 percent threshold to avoid wasting votes in an effort to block an AfD majority.
The Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation warned that an AfD-led government would mark a “historical rupture,” as the party has dismissed the examination of Nazi crimes and pledged a “patriotic turn” in historical policy. The foundation urged federal and state authorities to legally safeguard the independence and funding of memorials and historical education institutions, stating that warnings alone were no longer sufficient.
European Parliament Vice President Nicu Ștefănuță called the AfD’s 44 percent result in Sachsen-Anhalt a sign that the far-right wave in Europe was “as real as it gets.” He argued that each election would now require a fierce fight, won through organization rather than wishful thinking, and that voters prioritized daily concerns over abstract democratic principles .
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