Phoenix 24
Germany’s regional election shock has moved its political conflict into the heart of Parliament.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused the far-right Alternative for Germany of promoting policies equivalent to ethnic cleansing, intensifying his confrontation with party co-leader Alice Weidel during a heated Bundestag debate. Their exchange followed the AfD’s historic victory in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt.
Merz focused his criticism on the AfD’s concept of “remigration,” which the party presents as a legal program for accelerating deportations. The chancellor argued that implementing the policy according to origin or skin color would amount to the forced ethnic reorganization of German society. Weidel rejected that characterization and demanded the immediate removal of more than one million refugees whose continued presence she considers unjustified.
The AfD secured 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its previous result and reducing Merz’s Christian Democratic Union to 17.2%. Despite finishing first, the party won 39 of the state parliament’s 83 seats, leaving it three short of an absolute majority. Germany’s mainstream parties continue to maintain their political “firewall” against cooperating with the AfD, making the formation of a stable regional government uncertain.
Weidel portrayed the election as a rejection of Merz’s national coalition between conservatives and Social Democrats, predicting that the alliance is approaching its end. She also called for Germany to restore Russian gas imports, lift sanctions and reduce its support for Ukraine. Merz accused the AfD of defending Moscow’s interests while ignoring alleged Russian sabotage operations directed against Germany.
The result exposes a deeper challenge for the chancellor. Condemning the AfD’s rhetoric may reinforce democratic boundaries, but it does not address the economic stagnation, migration concerns and political alienation that have expanded the party’s support. Germany must now decide how to defend constitutional values while responding credibly to the grievances that the far right has transformed into electoral power.
Democracy weakens when legitimate discontent becomes an instrument for exclusion.