Germany election: Ulrich Siegmund leads AfD to record win in Saxony-Anhalt
Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old lead candidate of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), led the party to its strongest result in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, as the party fell short of the majority required to form a government on its own.
The AfD secured 43.8% of the vote in the eastern German state, according to preliminary official results, winning 39 of the 83 seats in the state legislature. A majority requires 42 seats. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led nationally by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, finished second with 17.2%.
The result puts the AfD in a position to seek its first state government in Germany since World War II. However, the party faces the longstanding refusal of other mainstream parties to form coalitions with it. Siegmund has also said the AfD would not abandon its political positions simply to enter a coalition.
Siegmund, born on October 25, 1990, in the final months of the former East Germany, has been a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state legislature for a decade. He has served as co-leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the state since 2022.
Before entering politics, Siegmund studied business management and worked as a salesman of air fresheners. He was briefly a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU before joining the AfD. He later built a social media following through criticism of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
His campaign focused on immigration, economic concerns and references to the former East Germany. During the campaign, Siegmund said voters wanted “the old, safe Germany back”. He also used East German-produced Simson mopeds at campaign events and rode one to his polling station in Tangermünde on election day.
Siegmund has also outlined policies including increased deportations and a “remigration” programme for undocumented migrants, changes to education policy and restrictions on the display of rainbow flags in schools. The AfD's regional platform also includes measures aimed at encouraging German expatriates to return and increasing financial support for families.
The Saxony-Anhalt AfD branch has been classified by the state's domestic intelligence agency as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation, a designation rejected by the party. Siegmund attended a 2023 meeting in Potsdam where a representative of the Identitarian Movement presented plans involving the deportation of immigrants. He later said his participation did not constitute support for the proposals.
During the campaign, outgoing state premier Sven Schulze of the CDU declined to personally classify Siegmund as a right-wing extremist but said he was aware of the people around him, including individuals he described as extreme.
Following Sunday's result, Siegmund said the AfD had received a mandate to bring about political change but maintained that the party would not compromise its positions to secure a coalition. The AfD has never governed at the state or federal level in Germany, while the CDU and other mainstream parties continue to reject cooperation with it.
The election also delivered a major setback to Merz's CDU, which recorded 17.2% in the preliminary official results. The outcome is expected to increase pressure on the federal government as the AfD seeks to translate its gains in eastern Germany into further electoral advances.
with inputs from PTI
