Overview
- The AfD emerged as the largest party with about 43.8 percent but fell short of an absolute majority, leaving it three seats short of a sole government.
- The party has formally invited the CDU to sondierungsgespräche as it seeks partners or a working majority for a minister‑president vote.
- The CDU suffered a historic defeat to roughly 17.2 percent, promptly elected Sven Schulze as its state parliamentary leader, and positioned itself in opposition.
- Institutions signaled immediate pushback: the MDR said it would sue if the state quit the MDR‑Staatsvertrag, the Landesverfassungsschutz already classifies the AfD‑landesverband as “gesichert rechtsextremistisch,” and state security ministers are reviewing limits on sensitive information sharing.
- Nationally the result has put Chancellor Friedrich Merz under pressure to defend the Grundgesetz while President Trump’s public praise for the AfD intensified international attention and raised concerns about transnational backing.