Overview
- The AfD won a large plurality in the Saxony‑Anhalt vote but fell short of a majority, creating a hung Landtag in which no clear anti‑AfD coalition holds a majority and leaving CDU’s Sven Schulze to remain as caretaker minister‑president under a constitution that sets no deadline to elect a successor.
- Niedersachsen’s municipal returns show the AfD more than tripled its 2021 share to roughly 16 percent while the CDU lost ground, prompting state CDU chief Sebastian Lechner to publicly distance himself from federal leader Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- The AfD’s Niedersachsen organisation is officially under Verfassungsschutz observation as a suspected extremist subject, a status the party is challenging in court and which has already led to several AfD candidates being barred from running.
- Devastating Saxony‑Anhalt results have sparked bitter infighting inside the state CDU, including leaked WhatsApp rows, mutual accusations between Sven Schulze and Sepp Müller, and threats of legal action that could further weaken the party’s hand in government talks.
- What happens next will hinge on short‑term legal and parliamentary fights over seating and office‑holding and on the 20 September land elections in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern and Berlin, outcomes that could force broader changes in coalition strategy or CDU leadership.