North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister, Herbert Reul (CDU), expressed significant concern regarding the possible participation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state government of Saxony-Anhalt. Speaking to the “Handelsblatt”, the CDU politician stated that allowing a party that harbors what he describes as right-wing extreme thinking and positions itself openly in favor of Russia presents a major risk to both internal and external security. Reul emphasized that in a time when Russia threatens German security through espionage and hybrid attacks, the involvement of forces that maintain a dangerous closeness to this actor would constitute a critical security policy risk.
Looking ahead to the elections in Saxony-Anhalt this autumn, Reul framed the upcoming vote as another major test of the political mood. He urged voters to carefully weigh their options until the last minute and remain fully aware of the weight of their vote. “Simple answers are not good solutions for complicated problems” Reul advised.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Infratest institute for the “Magdeburger Volksstimme”, the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung”, and the MDR, the AfD currently leads in Saxony-Anhalt with 41 percent, increasing its gap compared to the CDU, which registered 26 percent. Elections for the state parliament are scheduled for September. Presently, Saxony-Anhalt is governed by a coalition comprising the CDU, SPD, and FDP.
