Historic elections in Germany on Sunday: the far right hopes to seize power in Saxony-Anhalt. Merz promises to block its access to government

The regional elections on September 6 in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt could mark a historic first: the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party taking the helm of a state.

Ulrich Siegmund, one of the party’s regional leaders, is widely considered to have a strong chance of securing a decisive victory. If the AfD wins an absolute majority in the state parliament, Siegmund would become premier, and the party would break through the “cordon sanitaire” that has kept it out of all federal and regional governments since its founding in 2013. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that he will assess the situation after the elections and do everything possible to prevent the state from ending up “in the hands of radicals.”

An AfD victory would have effects beyond regional politics. As premier, Siegmund would assume, on a rotating basis, the chairmanship of meetings of the premiers of the 16 states and could appear alongside the chancellor in Berlin.

Traditional parties and the German press consider the party a threat to the postwar liberal order.