{"id":2655493,"date":"2026-09-07T09:17:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T13:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-right-wing-wave-just-hit-germany-populists-may-govern-a-state-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T09:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T13:21:42","slug":"the-right-wing-wave-just-hit-germany-populists-may-govern-a-state-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-right-wing-wave-just-hit-germany-populists-may-govern-a-state-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right-Wing Wave Just Hit Germany: Populists May Govern a State for the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-right-wing-wave-just-hit-germany-populists-may-govern-a-state-for-the-first-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2655493&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The content discusses the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democracy-versus-bureaucracy-how-populism-became-the-handmaiden-of-tech-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Democracy versus bureaucracy: How populism became the handmaiden of tech ... Washington Examiner\">important political shift<\/a> in Saxony-Anhalt,Germany,where the far-right populist party,Alternative for Germany (AfD),achieved its first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matt-gaetz-and-the-trump-mandate-question-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Matt Gaetz and the Trump mandate question ... Washington Examiner\">major electoral victory<\/a> by finishing first in the state elections. Although they did not secure an outright majority, their strong performance-about 44% of the vote and 39 seats-shocked the established political system, which traditionally seeks to isolate extremist parties. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >win reflects widespread voter frustration<\/a> over economic and social issues, especially immigration policies enacted after Merkel&#8217;s 2015 &#8220;Wir schaffen das&#8221; (&#8220;We can do it&#8221;) campaign, which led to increased popularity for the AfD. The election results have broad implications, intensifying debates about populism&#8217;s future in Europe and the potential for similar gains in upcoming elections across France, Spain, and the UK. The article also highlights political reactions, the challenges of forming a government, and the broader impact on transatlantic relations and European stability.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>In the first major electoral victory for a populist party derided as \u201cfar-right\u201d and shunned by most of Europe\u2019s establishment, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany is expected to finish first by a wide margin in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt held on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>While the party will still lack an absolute majority, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/09\/06\/world\/germany-election\/polls-are-set-to-close-in-crucial-election?smid=url-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>, the win marks the first time that the party \u2014 generally referred to by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-buchenwald-memorial-bans-german-far-right-afd-from-ceremony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AfD<\/a>, its German initials \u2014 has come out on top in a state election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaxony-Anhalt is a relatively small state, and the heart of the AfD\u2019s power base in eastern Germany,\u201d the Times reported. \u201cBut the result has sent shock waves through the country\u2019s political system, which was designed after World War II to prevent extremist parties from ever returning to power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe political establishment has treated the AfD as a pariah, but the party tapped into voter frustration on a wide range of economic and social issues to win about 44 percent of the vote in the state, and was set to claim 39 of the 83 seats in the Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much of the vote came at the expense of the center-right party of the country\u2019s current chancellor, Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c986w38r4j5o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a> noted, Merz had come to power hoping to curb the AfD\u2019s popularity, which had risen significantly after both mass migration from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa \u2014 along with the center-left government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel refusing to implement strong border measures or send the migrants.<\/p>\n<p>Merkel\u2019s 2015 proclamation \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/another-one-german-woman-beheaded-homeless-african-male-arrested-murder-earlier-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wir schaffen das<\/a>\u201d \u2014 \u201cWe can do it\u201d in German, her response to criticism that the government could not safely assimilate new arrivals without cultural and economic upheaval \u2014 became her political epitaph.<\/p>\n<p>It also led to the first surge in popularity for the AfD, which became the first party not in the centrist establishment or on the progressive left to attain any prominence in Germany since the end of Nazi rule in 1945.<\/p>\n<p>While AfD will likely have to find partners to govern with, the overwhelming nature of their first-place finish Saxony-Anhalt showed Merz\u2019s more conservative tack had not worked, either \u2014 and sends shockwaves through the country\u2019s political establishment as it looks toward the country\u2019s next federal election, which must happen before March of 2029.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGermans simply are fed up with policy being made against Germany\u2019s interests. We stood for election very clearly to represent the interests of our country \u2013 not Ukraine\u2019s, not any other country\u2019s,\u201d said Alice Weidel, national co-leader of the party, after the polls closed, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/09\/06\/europe\/germany-afd-state-election-majority-intl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve made history, and we\u2019re taking our country back,\u201d said Ulrich Siegmund, AfD\u2019s state party leader. \u201cIt all starts here in Saxony-Anhalt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>German leaders have long sought to have the AfD banned outright, with lawyers for the far-left German Society for Civil Rights declaring as late as this June that the party was \u201cdemonstrably unconstitutional\u201d and a legal attempt to ban it would be \u201clikely successful,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/german-lawyers-ban-on-far-right-afd-likely-successful\/a-77726537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deutsche Welle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Trump administration has been clear with European officialdom that the state of transatlantic alliances, particularly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/breaking-russia-reportedly-plotting-attack-nato-country-test-alliance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NATO<\/a>, could be jeopardized if European countries meddle \u00a0with elections by interfering with anti-establishment parties.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-german-defense-minister-melts-podium-jd-vance-humiliates-european-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vice President J.D. Vance\u2019s speech<\/a> to the Munich Security Conference in 2025, where he chastised the German defense minister and others for \u201chiding behind ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation\u201d to quash parties like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-buchenwald-memorial-bans-german-far-right-afd-from-ceremony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AfD<\/a>, Reform in the United Kingdom, and the National Rally in France.<\/p>\n<p>With Sunday\u2019s results, however, questions about the future of populism in Europe \u2014 both practical and hypothetical \u2014 will be asked louder than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Practically, the AfD will have to figure out whether it wants to go it alone as a minority party or try to find a partner to work with. CNN noted that while most of Germany\u2019s establishment parties had pledged to work together to form a \u201cfirewall\u201d against entering a coalition against AfD, the extent to which AfD dominated the polls made it clear that even by banding together, their coalition would still also represent a minority under Germany\u2019s electoral process.<\/p>\n<p>AfD co-chair Tina Chrupalla said the party was still willing to \u201cextend a hand\u201d to any party that wants to work with it as a majority government.<\/p>\n<p>As the BBC noted, it\u2019s likely that the erosion of support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/fool-around-find-trump-cutting-natos-access-massive-amount-us-weapon-systems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Merz\u2019s<\/a> party, which lost half of its vote in the state election, likely reverberated across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe next 12 months is bumper election season across the EU. Ballots are expected in key nations France, Italy, Spain and Poland. Brussels fears more \u2018extreme\u2019 parties, left but particularly right of the political spectrum, may benefit across the board,\u201d the BBC\u2019s report read.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, National Rally in France and Vox in Spain have a significant chance of notching national electoral victories like AfD saw in Saxony-Anhalt.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, while the United Kingdom doesn\u2019t have elections any time in the near future, most likely, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nigel-farage-trounces-keir-starmers-labour-party-uk-local-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK<\/a> has been consistently ahead or near the lead in most national polls \u2014 and given the United Kingdom\u2019s first-past-the-post parliamentary system, combined with the collapse of the traditional Labour-Conservative duopoly, that could mean the man who is widely seen as the motive force behind Brexit is the country\u2019s next prime minister.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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