AfD launches campaign for Saxony‑Anhalt state election

The far‑right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) opened its campaign for the Saxony‑Anhalt Landtag election on 18 July 2026 in a Magdeburg exhibition hall attended by roughly 3,000 supporters. Party chairwoman Alice Weidel pledged the crowd that the party’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, would become the state’s first AfD minister‑president, setting a target of “45 percent plus X”. Recent polls show the AfD at 41‑42 percent, ahead of the governing coalition of CDU, SPD and FDP (23 percent). The party, classified by the state’s domestic‑security office as “secured right‑extremist”, outlined a 100‑day programme calling for the end of public broadcasting, the immediate deportation of asylum seekers, compulsory work for refugees, and “family‑values” education in schools. Opponents staged counter‑demonstrations featuring groups such as “Omas gegen Rechts”, churches and cultural organisations, promoting democracy, humanity and solidarity. The campaign also attracted publicity through a claimed €5,000 donation from a CDU district council member and a video endorsement by pop‑singer Michael Wendler. The election is scheduled for 6 September 2026, and the AfD’s surge is prompting the incumbent CDU minister‑president Sven Schulze to warn of the party’s potential governance role.