Overview
- Infratest dimap polls show the AfD around 42% ahead of the 6 September state election, a lead that is large but likely short of an outright majority and therefore leaves coalition arithmetic open.
- A combative TV duel on Wednesday between CDU incumbent Sven Schulze and AfD lead Ulrich Siegmund sharpened scrutiny of Siegmund’s policy detail and saw personal attacks that increased public attention on his associations.
- More than 120 businesses in Magdeburg run by people with migration backgrounds closed for a ‘Migra‑Streik’ to protest racism and the prospect of an AfD government, signalling organized civic pushback.
- Researchers at IWH and IW warned that AfD-style restrictions on migration would shrink the available workforce and could cut Saxony‑Anhalt’s growth by about 0.5–1.0 percentage points per year, threatening sectors such as food processing, construction and healthcare.
- If the AfD falls short of a majority, small parties — notably BSW and Die Linke — and minority‑government options become decisive, while the state AfD is already classed by the Verfassungsschutz as 'gesichert rechtsextrem', a factor shaping post‑election alliances and scrutiny.