The Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), expressed confidence that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) will not participate in the state government following the 2026 state elections, despite the party’s current standing in polls. In an interview with the news portal T-Online, Haseloff stated, “The AfD will not govern here” asserting that a majority of citizens are opposed to their inclusion in government and that the party won’t achieve an absolute majority due to a lack of potential coalition partners.
Haseloff voiced his conviction that his party will outperform the AfD in the upcoming elections. He emphasized that his potential successor, current Economics Minister Sven Schulze (CDU), also definitively excludes any cooperation with the AfD. “Sven Schulze is just as clear on this as I am” he stated, adding that the AfD is the CDU’s primary opponent, aiming to dismantle the party. He further suggested that many voters are realizing a vote for the AfD may not translate into meaningful representation.
The Minister-President also questioned the accuracy of current polling data, which places the AfD around 30 percent support, narrowly behind the CDU. “No one truly knows where the AfD currently stands” Haseloff commented, adding that surveys in the eastern states present a “very vague picture.
Regarding his preferred successor, Sven Schulze, Haseloff described their positions as closely aligned. He stated he could confidently endorse Schulze as a continuation of his own political approach, characterizing him as ideologically congruent and firmly positioned in the political center. Haseloff dismissed Schulze’s relative lack of public recognition as a concern, expressing his intention to actively advocate for Schulze during the election campaign, leveraging his own established public standing to introduce the candidate to voters.
