Overview
- Special Olympics Deutschland issued a public warning on Friday after the AfD won the Sachsen-Anhalt state election, saying the result endangers the organisation's work in that state.
- 1st Vice President Andreas Silbersack said the AfD wants to “abolish inclusion” and warned the party’s rise could jeopardise funding and the existence of Special Olympics programmes in Sachsen-Anhalt.
- The AfD’s Sachsen-Anhalt programme explicitly calls the mainstreaming of disabled pupils an “experiment” that has failed, a stance Special Olympics says would undercut inclusive education policy.
- Silbersack appealed to voters ahead of the Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern elections this weekend, saying the ballots will affect whether athletes can continue to access training, competitions and social support.
- Special Olympics framed the issue as both legal and human: it cited Germany’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2023 World Games as evidence of progress that could be reversed if state governments withdraw support.