AfD Victory in Saxony-Anhalt Leaves German State Facing Coalition Deadlock

The election in Saxony-Anhalt delivered a decisive first-place finish for Alternative for Germany, but not a clear path to power. Preliminary official results from the September 6 vote for the eastern German state's landtag showed the far-right AfD winning 43.8% after all polling-station ballots were counted and results were released overnight into Sunday, September 7.

For companies operating in the state, the more consequential issue may be what comes next: a difficult and potentially extended effort to assemble a governing majority. The result fractured the political center, punished the incumbent coalition and elevated a party that other major forces have largely ruled out as a governing partner. That leaves Saxony-Anhalt facing a boardroom-relevant period of political uncertainty over economic policy, energy, migration and the state's relationship with federal priorities.

AfD's candidate for state premier is 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund. Party chairman Tino Chrupalla has already said Siegmund will put himself forward for the office. The Christian Democratic Union, whose member Sven Schulze currently serves as state premier, fell to 17.2%, almost half its level at the previous election. The Social Democratic Party received 9.3%, the Greens 8.9%, the Left Party 8.6%, and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW, entered the landtag with 5.3%. The Free Democratic Party and other parties failed to clear the 5% threshold. Turnout was 77.8%.

Under these results, the 83 seats in the Saxony-Anhalt landtag would be distributed as follows: AfD would receive 39 seats, the CDU 15, the Left Party, Greens and SPD eight each, and BSW five. That arithmetic gives AfD a dominant position but not an outright majority. It also gives BSW, a new political force, potential leverage far beyond its single-digit vote share.

A Strategic Collapse for the CDU

The CDU's defeat was not limited to the statewide tally. Schulze, 47, also lost in his own constituency in Magdeburg, taking 31.7% against AfD candidate Christian Mertens, who won 35.2%. Schulze became head of the state government in early 2025. Before that, he served as economy minister and as a member of the European Parliament.

The direct-mandate map showed an even sharper reversal. CDU candidates failed to win a single direct mandate, losing in all 41 constituencies. AfD candidates won 38 constituencies, including Siegmund in Genthin. AfD failed to secure a convincing victory only in the major cities of Magdeburg and Halle. The contrast with the 2021 state election is stark: the CDU then won direct mandates in 40 of 41 constituencies, while AfD won one.

For the CDU, the result raises questions that go beyond one regional campaign. The party's governing formula in Saxony-Anhalt, a coalition with the SPD and FDP, suffered a severe defeat. The FDP is now outside the landtag, while the CDU's ability to anchor a majority has been materially weakened. In corporate terms, the incumbent management team has lost both market share and operational control.

BSW Emerges as the Swing Actor

Thomas Schulze, the lead candidate for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance in Saxony-Anhalt, said after the vote that his party was open to talks with the far-right party. He told dpa that BSW had said it would negotiate with all parties, including AfD, and stressed that BSW was not interested in a political firewall.

“We stated that we will hold talks with all parties. That includes AfD,” Schulze said, according to dpa.

Asked about possible common ground between the two parties, Schulze pointed above all to Russia policy. He said both opposed sanctions that, in his words, were literally destroying the economy. Both parties also support what they call affordable energy, including the resumption of oil and gas supplies from Russia.

At the same time, dpa noted that several AfD initiatives are incompatible with BSW's position. Schulze said AfD's education policy did not suit BSW at all and that the parties were very far apart on that issue. He also said BSW takes a much more socially oriented position on economic policy. BSW has floated the idea of a nonpartisan state premier who would govern through changing majorities involving AfD.

Siegmund has rejected that proposal. Reuters reported that the AfD election winner said the party would not abandon its values and objectives for political games. He ruled out coalitions requiring major compromises, saying voters should finally receive after elections what they voted for. He said cooperation was possible only with those who supported AfD's demand for a clear change of political course in the state, whether through a parliamentary group or individual lawmakers.

Chrupalla, speaking on ARD, said AfD was prepared to make compromises in talks with other parties, including on migration and economic policy, provided they accepted a change of course.

Minority Rule and Boardroom Risk

Aside from BSW, no party entering the new landtag has stated an intention to enter a coalition with AfD. That makes government formation exceptionally difficult. One theoretical route would be a minority government made up of CDU, SPD and Greens, with full support from the Left Party. Together, those parties would have 40 seats, one more than AfD's 39. In that scenario, BSW lawmakers could become decisive in close votes.

But Schulze has repeatedly said before the election that he does not want to depend on either the right or the left. There is also resistance inside the CDU to any cooperation with the Left Party. If Schulze were nominated again for state premier, defectors could emerge within his own ranks.

That internal pressure is already visible. CDU landtag member Eva Feussner warned in comments to Stern that if attempts were made to cooperate with the left, entire local party branches would unanimously leave the party.

For business leaders, the immediate implication is not a single policy change but instability in decision-making. Saxony-Anhalt now faces negotiations in which energy affordability, sanctions on Russia, migration policy, education and social spending could all become bargaining chips. The state has produced a clear electoral winner, but not a stable governing architecture. Until that architecture takes shape, companies, investors and public-sector partners will be watching whether Germany's regional political fragmentation begins to translate into delayed decisions and less predictable economic governance.