German Far Right Aims to Lead Eastern State After December Vote

Germany’s far-right party will try to cobble together support to lead a government in an eastern state it now dominates and hold a parliamentary vote to install its leader as state premier in December.

Ulrich Siegmund, the Alternative for Germany contender in Saxony-Anhalt, told reporters on Tuesday that he’s in talks with lawmakers from other parties in an effort to forge a stable government. The party is negotiating with a far-left party, BSW, to explore areas of potential cooperation, according to people familiar with the talks.

The deliberations take place just over three weeks after the AfD scored a stunning victory in Saxony-Anhalt, putting it three seats short of an outright majority in parliament and in striking distance of leading the first far-right regional government in Germany’s post-World War II history.

“I wouldn’t go into the vote for state premier unless I knew beforehand that there was a stable majority,” Siegmund told reporters in the state capital Magdeburg, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. He added that he would likely be voted in as premier in the first round of a secret ballot.

Siegmund has expressed confidence that his party will eventually secure a majority to lead a government, if not in the current parliament, then in a fresh vote. During the election campaign, the candidate said he would only lead a government if his majority was guaranteed.

Key to the AfD’s ambitions is the BSW, a breakaway party led by former Left party leader Sahra Wagenknecht. She has said the party would abstain in a third ballot if other parties didn’t commit to supporting a non-partisan state premier. That would leave the AfD’s 39 lawmakers facing off against 39 lawmakers from the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Greens and the Left party — meaning it would take only one additional abstention or a defection to secure the top job for Siegmund.

The BSW, which has taken aim at the German establishment and its traditional parties, has ruled out a formal coalition with the AfD, but left open issue-by-issue cooperation. It’s said it will support an AfD member as parliamentary speaker when the body convenes on Oct. 6.

The AfD wants to ensure the left-wing party follows through on that pledge, according to one of the people, who spoke as deliberations take place behind closed doors.

The timing is notable because the state parliament is due to approve a 2027 budget by the end of the year. Without an enacted budget, provisional financing rules would keep existing obligations funded but restrict new initiatives. An accord with the BSW could give Siegmund a path to majority support for the financial plan.

German States Plot Moves to Stop Far-Right Holding Them HostageGerman Far Right Expects Power in Eastern State Sooner or LaterGerman Far Right Wargames Policy Agenda With Overture to MerzGerman Far Right Surges in State Vote in New Blow to Merz