Archive · 11 Sep 2026
AfD’s historic Saxony-Anhalt win spotlights leader Alice Weidel
Germany’s AfD party won a very large share of votes in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
It won 39 of the 83 seats, which is close to but not enough for a majority.
This means it may need another party’s help to govern.
Alice Weidel is one of the party’s leaders and has become especially well known.
She is openly gay and lives with her partner, Sarah Bossard, and their two children.
However, the AfD supports a traditional definition of family and opposes expanding some LGBTQ+ policies.
Weidel says her personal life does not conflict with her political views.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly criticized the party’s immigration plans.
Other parties must now decide whether to cooperate with the AfD or maintain Germany’s political “firewall” against it.
The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, securing 39 of 83 state parliament seats.
Alice Weidel, the AfD’s openly gay co-leader, has become a prominent figure in Germany’s rightward political shift.
The AfD promotes strict immigration controls, “remigration,” national sovereignty and closer ties with Russia.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the AfD a destructive force and said its remigration plans resembled ethnic cleansing.
The AfD lacks a majority and would need support from another party to lead the state government.
- Who
- The Alternative for Germany (AfD), led nationally by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats are the central political actors.
- What
- The AfD achieved a historic result in the Saxony-Anhalt state election and fell three seats short of a majority.
- When
- The election took place on September 6, 2026, followed by a Bundestag clash between Weidel and Merz.
- Where
- Saxony-Anhalt and Germany’s Bundestag in Berlin.
- Why
- The result reflected strong support for the AfD’s positions, particularly on immigration, while creating uncertainty over whether other parties will help it govern.
Critics and political rivals
AfD and its supporters
Immigration and remigration
Critics and political rivals
Friedrich Merz said the AfD’s remigration plans amounted to a synonym for ethnic cleansing and argued that deportations should distinguish between people contributing to the economy and those without permanent residency.
AfD and its supporters
The AfD campaigns for tight border controls and remigration, which it describes as the return of migrants; critics say the term could also include naturalised citizens.
Cooperation with the AfD
Critics and political rivals
Rival parties have traditionally refused to cooperate with the far right under the Brandmauer, or political firewall, and may continue that policy after the election.
AfD and its supporters
The AfD may seek support from the left-wing populist BSW party, while a senior AfD figure suggested the Christian Democrats could cooperate if they abandoned their refusal to work with the far right.
Weidel’s identity and party policy
Critics and political rivals
Critics point to a tension between Weidel’s identity as an openly gay woman and the AfD’s traditional-family platform and opposition to expanding LGBTQ+ policies.
AfD and its supporters
Weidel rejects the contradiction, saying her sexuality does not conflict with the party’s values and arguing that immigration controls would better protect gay people from violence.
- AfD vote share
- 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt
- Seats won
- 39 of 83 state parliament seats
- Majority gap
- Three seats short of a majority
- Voter turnout
- 77.8%
- Alice Weidel’s age
- 47
- AfD’s national result in 2025
- 20.8%, placing it second
- AfD monitoring
- Germany’s domestic intelligence agency monitors the party on suspicion of right-wing extremism, a status the party contests