© Getty Images The grouping publicized its “manifesto” prior to the local polls.
The extreme-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) group has pledged to expel migrants, strengthen oversight of state broadcasters, and commence pupil exchanges with Russia should it gain control in one of the eastern German provinces in this year’s elections, the FT reports .
At a gathering in Saxony-Anhalt on Saturday, April 11th, the AfD revealed its “governance plan” for the region, where it is topping opinion surveys. Should the party secure victory in the September election, it would be in a position to govern one of Germany’s constituent states for the first time in its 13-year lifespan.
The party’s nominee for state premier, Ulrich Sigmund, informed delegates in Magdeburg that they would “become historical figures” in an era where many individuals “no longer perceive security within their own homeland.”
The AfD, established in 2013, is progressively evolving into a political entity defined by a firm attitude towards migration, along with closer ties with Moscow.
In the previous year, Germany’s internal security service formally categorized the AfD as an extreme-right organization. The grouping is furthermore undergoing investigation pertaining to supposed financial inflows from China and Russia to its elected representatives. The officials themselves refute these claims.
The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has been increasing in favor as its primary competitors have been losing ground, and in the previous year, it attained second position in nationwide parliamentary elections for the initial occasion, garnering 21% of the ballot.
The party draws its strongest backing from eastern federal states, for instance, Saxony-Anhalt, which constituted a portion of the communist German Democratic Republic until the toppling of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
In 2024, the AfD emerged victorious in the eastern province of Thuringia, denoting the initial instance of the party clinching victory in a state election. Nevertheless, the center-right and center-left established a coalition alongside the far-left party with the aim of obstructing the far-right from assuming power.
In Saxony-Anhalt, surveys suggest support for the AfD hovering around 40%, despite a recent controversy encompassing reports indicating that regional party functionaries had awarded positions financed by taxpayers to their family members.
This might suffice for the party to assume control in September, notably if a number of smaller parties fail to surmount the five percent threshold mandated to access the state parliament.
The 156-page “manifesto” endorsed by the party on Saturday is markedly contentious. It incorporates a range of policy actions that extend beyond the jurisdiction of the state government, such as repealing sanctions targeting Moscow, restarting gas acquisitions through Nord Stream, withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, and eradicating the entitlement to asylum within Germany.
Sigmund conveyed to the FT his intent to illustrate to voters the manner in which these policy measures bear upon their region, in addition to outlining the party’s “primary policy directives” in preparation for the forthcoming nationwide election in 2029.
Many of the party’s other schemes will nearly certainly encounter challenges within Germany’s Constitutional Court. However, this might not impede the AfD from endeavoring to execute them should it secure power in Saxony-Anhalt, habitat to approximately two million inhabitants and the second poorest federal state in Germany in terms of GDP per capita.
Germany’s federal states bear responsibility for education, law enforcement, and regional domestic intelligence units, thus an AfD administration at the state level could wield extensive sway.
The party, amongst other strategies, will aim to eliminate the present public broadcasting framework within the federal state. The manifesto also denounces the “anti-Russian strategies of conventional political groups” and pledges to foster more robust economic and cultural associations with Moscow. It advocates for the augmentation of Russian language instruction and the initiation of pupil exchange initiatives with Russia.
The program stipulates that Ukrainians ought not to sustain refugee classification in Germany and should be incentivized to go back to their homeland.
Migration constitutes a pivotal element of the program, which necessitates a “culture of departure” for undocumented migrants, instead of a “culture of reception.”
The manifesto employs the remarkably polemical term “remigration,” conceived by Austrian right-wing ideologue Martin Sellner, and asserts that enforced deportations will be applicable to migrants who have been denied asylum, convicted individuals, and other individuals who do not possess the entitlement to reside within Germany.
The program encompasses assurances to deter and dissuade lawful migration, and furthermore dismisses the notion of compensating for the deficit of qualified personnel in domains such as healthcare through the employment of laborers originating from a “culturally foreign” origin.
The AfD’s chief adversary in Saxony-Anhalt, the center-right Christian Democratic Party, articulated that the extreme-right party’s ascent to power would signify an “utter catastrophe” for the region.
How did a nation that was actively endeavoring to reconcile with its Nazi legacy rediscover space for right-wing extremism anew? Historian Thomas Vaille, within his article “ The Phenomenon of the Alternative für Deutschland. Why Germans Are Not Immunized Against Right-Wing Radicalism ,” delved into the rationales that prompted the burgeoning of the extreme-right political entity in Germany.