Far-right AfD party won big in Saxony-Anhalt. Will it affect Germany’s approach to China?
Por Cao Jiaxuan — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement China-Germany relations China Diplomacy Far-right AfD party won big in Saxony-Anhalt. Will it affect Germany’s approach to China?
In the wake of a key state election, observers say Germany’s economic pressures will persist, no matter who is in power
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Cao Jiaxuan in Beijing Published: 5:58pm, 10 Sep 2026 Updated: 5:59pm, 10 Sep 2026 With its sweeping victory in a key state election, the far-right Alternative for Germany is putting pressure on the ruling federal coalition and could nudge Berlin towards a more pragmatic approach to China, analysts said. By securing 43.8 per cent of the vote in the September 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt – more than double its 2021 result – the AfD sent shock waves and piled further pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.
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In the state it has governed in coalition since 2002, the CDU’s vote plummeted from 37.1 per cent in the previous election to 17.2 per cent.
The AfD, which calls for expelling immigrants, cutting aid to Ukraine and repairing diplomatic ties with Moscow, looked unlikely to form what could be Germany’s first far-right state government since World War II, because it fell short of a majority and appears unable to form a coalition with other parties.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said in Berlin that the party was aiming for 40 per cent in the 2029 general election, up from its current first-place polling of 28 per cent.
Analysts say the results in Saxony-Anhalt will have an indirect effect on Germany’s China policy.
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