Following the AfD’s resounding success in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, top candidate Ulrich Siegmund reaffirmed the party’s demand for government. Speaking at the AfD’s election party in Magdeburg on Sunday evening, Siegmund stated that the party was prepared to extend a hand to any individual or faction in the new state parliament that shared their desire to tackle the fundamental problems facing the region. Nevertheless, he stressed that the electoral victory represented a “vote of confidence from the people” of the state. “We will not compromise,” Siegmund asserted, “we will not give up on ourselves.”
Meanwhile, AfD leader Alice Weidel spoke more explicitly about the party’s right to govern. “We clearly accept this mandate to form a government and we will assume governmental responsibility,” Weidel said. She pledged that the AfD would take up governance in Saxony-Anhalt with Uli as Minister-President, and would also participate in federal government in the near future under AfD leadership.
However, current projections suggest that merely securing an AfD majority will not be enough. The BSW (Bürgerbewegung Sei Deutschland) could prove to be the decisive element, as it currently hovers near the five-percent electoral threshold.
