East Germany’s divides fuel AfD surge in Saxony-Anhalt
SCMP · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The Alternative for Germany, or AfD, was projected to win a landslide in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt election, with exit polls putting it at at least 44 per cent and far ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU. The result sharpened attention on why much of former East Germany has become the party’s stronghold more than three decades after reunification. Officials and analysts cited the upheaval that followed the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, when closures of state-owned firms triggered unemployment, out-migration and a durable sense of loss among many East Germans. Those grievances have persisted alongside lower average wages and savings, weaker representation in national politics and strong resonance for the AfD’s anti-immigration message.
Key Points
- Exit polls from ARD and ZDF put the AfD on at least 44 per cent in Saxony-Anhalt, well ahead of the CDU on 18.5 per cent
- AfD sought an absolute majority in the Magdeburg state parliament, which could let it govern alone and bypass mainstream parties’ firewall.
- Elisabeth Kaiser said post-1989 closures of East German state enterprises caused mass unemployment and population flight, especially among young women
- Kaiser said many East Germans still carry a collective memory of devaluation, loss and sudden change after reunification in 1990
- Average wages and savings remain lower in the east, while big business stays concentrated in western Germany and easterners are under-represented politically
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the Saxony-Anhalt vote is a reminder that economic integration alone may not erase regional political resentment, even after decades of investment. Germany is Europe’s biggest economy, so a stronger AfD and deeper pressure on Berlin’s governing parties could affect the policy stability that international businesses and markets watch closely.