The far-right Alternative for Germany party wins in a landslide in the eastern German state of Saxony on Halt, but it is unclear if the party will be able to form the country's first far-right state government since 1945. I'm Brent Goff in Berlin. DW News starts right now. And it's good to have you on this election night. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is projected to win by a landslide in a closely watched election in the eastern German state of Saxony Anhalt. But will it be able to form the country's first far-right state government since the end of World War II? That is the question tonight. Projections show the AFD received more than 44% of the vote. That's more than double its closest rivals, the conservative Christian Democrats. The AFD went into the vote seeking an absolute majority so that it could govern on its own. But now it may have to find a coalition partner if the results hold. And here are the latest results as vote counting continues. The AfD has 44% more than doubling its previous showing in the state. The conservative Christian Democrats, they saw their share tumble to under 18%. The Social Democrats received more than 9% just ahead of the left party and the Greens. And the left-wing populist BSW party has 5% just enough to get into the state parliament. Now, if these results hold, this would likely mean that the AFD would fall just short of the majority in parliament with 39 of the 83 seats. The CDU would have 16 seats. The Social Democrats, the Left Party, and the Greens would have eight seats each, and the BSW, it will have just made it past the 5% threshold to enter parliament with four seats. A short while ago, the party's state leader, Uric Ziggmund, claimed victory in a speech to his supporters. Here's some of what he had to say. >> My dear friends, this is a historic evening. We have made history. We are going to get our country back. And we start with Saxony Anhalt 44.5%. >> And the goal that we had at the time wasn't just realistic. It was exactly what the people of Saxony Anhelt wanted to see. This is going to shake all of Germany. What became clear in every interview and here tonight is of course that some people are downcast. But what we've seen is that most people know it's not just about Saxony Anhal. We're sending a signal for all of Germany because we found our way back to Germany. And this is a self-confidence signal we're sending out to the entire country. >> All right, let's pull in our political correspondent Matthew Moore. Now he is at AFD party headquarters in the state capital MDOG. Matthew, I mean if we listen to Olic Ziggwin's speech, I have to ask you is the AFD does it have a choice? Does it have to join a coalition if it wants to govern? At the moment, Brent, it looks like it will need to form a coalition if it wants to govern because at the moment it looks like it's just one seat short of a majority. And even that would be a fragile majority. But listen, the people here tonight are still in celebration mode. They are um full of confidence, full of um of of superlatives really to describe what they believe is is a breakthrough moment for this party. I mean, I've been asking the the co-leader here tonight, look, what do you think about this idea of of a coalition? And they say, look, it's too soon to decide whether we would do that. They're also there. It's also speculation, Brent, that the AFD is trying to to encourage, persuade some conservative lawmakers to join them. It's often said that there's sympathies within this the Conservative party Kiran Sakan had for the AFP and we may see in the next few days whether that's true. We may also see whether it's not true. So although at the moment it's very uncertain whether the AFD will will have that majority that they say that they say they want and that they say they need to form the next government here. But the bottom line is this. They're calling Seman the minister president, the governor of this state. They're saying they are the victori the victors and they're saying that they have landed a massive punch on the political establishment in this country. >> Matthew, tonight's vote, is it in favor of the AFD or would you say it's more a rejection of the policies coming from the federal government here in Berlin? >> Right. It's a combination of the two, but this is thoroughly a rejection of the status quo. The AFD has won a landslide in every segment of the public except from over 70s. They won 43% of 18 to 24 year olds. That's a huge claim to be a party of the future. And I think when when we start to break down the surveys of voters in this election that take place in the coming hours and days, I I'm sure that we will see a trend that we've noticed in other elections continue, which is that people are no longer voting for the AFD as a protest vote, but they believe that the party has the answers to dig Germany out of this period of uncertainty that it is in. >> You know, we've talked many times about the AFD having many critics. What message does tonight's election, what is it, what message does the AFD send to its critics? They say you've um you've stigmatized us through the firewall. You have tried to marginalize us and this is a message. The message tonight is one that you guys have got it wrong to the opposition that you have you've you've charted the wrong course and essentially you're being punished for what you've for for doing that in in recent in recent years really. So the AFT has always felt that they've had this victim complex. They've used it to to um part of their campaigning and tonight they're saying look our critics are getting their their just desserts. They're being punished for not not delivering the promises that they say they've made to to the voters in recent years for in some cases compromising on their their policy pledges, on their on their values, on their their ideological um fundamentals. And they're saying what we see tonight, this is a vote here for a change in German politics, a vote here for for a party that is promising radical change. Let's not forget Brent, their manifesto is like nothing I've seen before in this country in recent years at least. Um and and essentially it's promising to tear up everything that's gone before when it comes to education, when it comes to culture, when it comes to policing, when it comes to immigration. And and I think that will be interesting to see if they do manage to get into power, whether they can start to deliver on those promises and if not, whether voters stick with them. There's a lot of pressure on this party to deliver the kind of change that they've been promising for so long and to do a good job of it. And that's why, you know, a year ago, if you'd asked me the people in the party want the AF to win this election, some people in the party felt like an outright majority wouldn't be good for the AF as a whole. It might damage the AF's reputation if they make a mess of it. There's still question marks as to whether or not Ory Seman who's been a very very effective campaigner, whether he is an effective administrator, whether he can actually get things done. Bren, there's also question marks about whether he's got the the staff around him to do to fill those those important jobs that comes with being governor. Yeah, I think we could say with certainty tonight that there's there questioning now of the party's appeal to certain voters, but there is still the question of whether or not the party can deliver and whether it can, you know, um take the heat that comes with accountability. >> It's an entirely different kettle of fish to be in campaign mode and to to be in in government. And that is why especially in Germany because we're so used to this multi-party system of coalitions of coming to agreements of negotiations of of compromising um that that that is why the AFP has been so resolute that if it does govern it wants to govern with a majority an absolute majority on its own. It hasn't reached that tonight. So, it'll be interesting to see whether they do take that offer that has come from the smaller BSW party, which is to to somehow work with them in some form. Um, it'll be interesting to see whether they actually take that offer up. But now is tonight is about celebration for this party. And tomorrow they will start to to to look at those talks and what could possibly come out of those talks. And it would, if they're successful, Brent, it would deliver the first far-right state government in Germany's postwar history, which is an incredible milestone in the post war story. >> W's Matthew Moore, our correspondent and a witness to history tonight in Magdabore. Matt, thank you. And joining me here in the studio now is my colleague and our Berlin bureau chief, Max Hoffman. He was here right here at the Big Tuz. We watched everything happen tonight. Max, let's just talk about why this matters beyond the state of Saxony and um unhalt. Why is it important that the AFD looks set for a major win? I think the most important repercussion immediately in the next days is that it puts uh even more pressure on the governing coalition in Berlin on the federal level which is made up of uh Fred Matsis the chancellor's uh center right uh CDU and the social democrats the SPD together they form a coalition and they've been under a lot of pressure in the last months because they um envision reforms and some of them have already been decided that are very controversial at least certain aspects of are very controversial and some of those aspects are especially controversial in in the east. It was kind of a fragile it's a fragile coalition >> because those parties for many things don't go together that well. They want different things. Uh there are some areas where they're on the same page. For example, uh Ukraine, >> but uh especially when it comes to social policies, there's a lot of trouble. I mentioned the pension reform. Uh should I go into detail for >> No, I mean we know that they're going to want people maybe to wait what another year or so before they can retire or they want to get rid of early retirement. >> Yeah, early retirement is a thing. Although it a lot of people in Germany don't consider it early retirement. It's about um um uh the possibility that you still have at the moment if you work 45 years and so you pay into the system >> during those 45 years that you can then retire regardless. uh you know you don't have to be 67 it's you 63 I think is the >> is the the minimum age and um so uh it's been recommended by a panel of experts that this uh be cancelled because the whole uh pension system uh as many social systems in Germany is is is just too expensive yeah >> for what we have here at the moment and especially in the east you have uh people who would be a lot of people who would be affected you know been working 45 years and they feel that's deeply unfair. So that's one of the most unpopular measures and it's just an example. There are others and um so that's why they're already under a lot of pressure and this just piles up a lot more pressure because basically the message you know from Saxony Anhud to that government and its courses says nope we don't want that. >> What about for the chancellor Friedick Mans? There has been some talk in the past uh what would happen to him if he would uh have bad results in uh three state elections. One of them being Saxony Anhut which we witnessed today. We have two more in two weeks. >> That's right. >> Including in Berlin where we where we are at the moment. >> And there was talk whether he could be changed you know keeping the same majority but somebody else steps in or uh that that was kind of the main theory. Well, it's pretty complicated that stuff, you know, >> and uh personally, I I'm not sure that's very likely. I would have told you that before this this election. >> I'm a bit less sure now because of the pressure. This is this is piling up, but it does remain a very complicated process and we're not we we're not done yet with Sax Unhub. don't know what the the definitive result is and whether the AFT really can govern there because it falls short of the absolute majority and the numbers are going down a bit over the evening. Do do you think we're looking at though the beginning of um a a string of electoral successes for the AFD? I mean once people have smelled victory and know that they maybe can be a part of the victorious party that momentum is hard to stop. Yeah, I think the key word here is definitely momentum. The AFD has momentum. No, no question about it. Everybody likes a winner. You certainly have those voters who want to jump on that ship. You know, that's sailing into the sunset in a positive way. Want to put it that way. If we just remain with the facts, um the next elections are in Berlin and uh Mcklinburgg western Pal Pomerania up in north which is also uh eastern state and the AFD is both polling historically well for those uh states. is lower in Berlin but still polling around 18% which also would have been quite unthinkable you know five six years ago and it's the it's polling as the strongest party up in Meckllinburgg >> and uh well it'll be interesting to see how the polls develop from now on whether the AFD gains you could also imagine that maybe this victory by the EFD mobilizes also other forces it did to a certain extent in Saxony because the Greens were stronger than expected. They pulled uh below what they had. So that might be sort of a counterreaction but definitely far less than the momentum of the AFD who is the uncontested winner this evening. >> All right, Max Hoffman, good to get your insight. It's good to have you here at the big table. I think a good night's sleep is welld deserved for for you and for all of us tonight. Thank you. >> That's true. Well, tonight's election was also a referendum on the incumbent state premier of Saxony, Anhant Schultz. Here is part of what he said after the first numbers came out. >> First of all, we live in a democracy. So, I would like to congratulate the strongest party which is the AFD. They have emerged the strongest party in Saxony. And as the CDU, we're going to have to live with this result. It is an extremely it was an extremely difficult campaign. I have to admit for 25 years I've been on election campaigns, but a campaign like the one we experienced here is not one we've ever seen before. I don't think in any other federal state either. >> Well, I'm joined now by DW's Bar Rert. He covered the election festivities. I use festivities very loosely there with the CDU in Saxony unhalt. B. How much of a defeat is this not only for the man we just saw speaking there Sven Schultz but also for his party the CDU? >> Well, this is a very frustrating and disappointing defeat that Mr. Schulz when Schulz also accepted immediately. He says that you cannot talk around it. It is a defeat because the party is cut in half actually 18%. This is only half of the percentage point they got from the the last election in 2021. And the position as the strongest party in the Lantak in the state parliament behind me there's just gone. Um but when Schulz did not say what he intends to do now he did uh say that he will think about what to do but he has no plans to declare immediately that he would step down or would try to form a kind of an anti- AFD coalition with the other parties in the land. So we don't know yet what he uh wants to do and I'm I'm afraid he doesn't know it himself. was really yeah a little bit under shock tonight because they had expected low numbers but not that devastating as they were. >> Did Did they Did you get anyone attempting to explain tonight's results and why the Conservatives why they did so poorly? Well, if you ask party members at this uh yeah, you call it party election party, there were 200 assembled, they say it is also to blame not only on the CD Saxon Anhal, but also on the on the government, the federal level, the Christian Democrats under the leadership of Rem, the chancellor, because um everybody is um disappointed about what he did in Berlin. The CDU members here says and they had to fight against that and the AFD was playing along these lines all over the election campaign. So it was very difficult for the state CDU to say um and to defend what is going on in Berlin. Uh but nevertheless there's al already um reactions here in Markborg. There were already little protests and demonstrations uh tonight here at the in front of the Lantak, the state parliament where we are standing now. There was a a little gathering from the German um trade union and Greenpeace and you also had some Antifa protests near um the station. So there might be some uh protests going on also in the next days. So people are reacting slowly to this results. >> What about German Chancellor Friedri Merittz? um you know, this is his party. Um is he expected um to step in front of the cameras maybe tomorrow um and address this? Um we're assuming that we won't hear anything tonight. >> Yeah. No, tonight he will not say anything. There were rumors that he would appear uh tonight, but this will not happen because the results are so meager that he will not do that. He he is scheduled to appear in Berlin tomorrow and as a party leader he has to say what is next for the party because this is also a very huge test for the party not only in Berlin but also here in Saxony Anhalt there are also some people that say maybe there are some CDU members of the new state parliament that might consider to change the aisle and vote with the AFD in future. the brunt. This commitment not to cooperate with the AFD might also be uh very shaky. Now >> DW's Baron Riot covering the CDU the conservatives on this election night for us in Saxony Anhalt. Baron, thank you. And to help us put tonight's developments into a broader context, I'm joined now by Katya Hoyer. She is an author, historian, and a visiting research fellow at King's College London. She's done extensive research on extremism in politics. Um, also she's looked at the east west divide right here in Germany. Kany, it's good to see you again. It was good having you during our live coverage as the votes were coming in. Um, how much of a success is this tonight for the AFD, keeping in mind that we're talking about just one state election? Yeah, I think they'll see this as a huge uh result for them and you saw this in the way that they responded as well when the first numbers came out. There were huge jubilations, people congratulating, you know, the leaders and one another. Um so that I think really symbolizes how they feel about this because they're so close to power in Sax and Anheld um that this can really be described as a major breakthrough for them, I think. And they've always said that this is about more than than Sax and Yanhad as well rather than just wanting to gain regional power. They've always said um slogans like let's get our state back which is of course um ambiguous. It could mean Saxony and it could mean Germany too. >> How would you explain the the AFD's ability to attract so many voters in this one state? But I mean the momentum is there now. It looks like the political victory is there. How was the AFD? How was it able to do this? I think it's a lot of different factors that come together there, but a huge impact certainly would have been the the campaign itself in Saxony Anheld because for the first time you saw a real shift in tone away from just anger and frustration which we saw in previous campaigns uh towards a much more kind of upbeat um tone and a much more um energetic way of campaigning that's symbolized in the lead candidate um Ziggmund um who's young and constantly smiling and and treated like a like a pop star almost wherever he goes. >> Um but it's also shown in the campaign slogans. So when they're now using um you know slogans like everything is possible, you can see that they're really striking a different tone compared to the kind of angry messaging of previous years. And would you say that part of the AFD's success and maybe also um part of the the conservatives um you know demise tonight is the fact that there has been a dir of positive pictures of the future being communicated by almost all of the political parties. >> I think so. I mean they focused a lot on the AFD and on warning um of the AfD. That's of course quite a negative way of running your campaign is saying to voters, you can't vote for this party um because of these reasons, but yet they're not really giving people a reason to vote for them. And I think that's that's been the issue here for the other political parties. Um because polling has has actually shown across Germany that what people want most is real change is reforms is is a sense that um there's kind of a new beginning towards a better future that's on the economy on migration on the education system on all sorts of issues. um and they've just stopped believing that the mainstream parties can deliver this and they've not really given them cause to to think otherwise or to change their minds on that. >> The German chancellor Friedick Mets, his conservatives, they have they've moved on several issues to the right in response to recent successes by the AFD. Why was this not enough to stop the AFD's surge? I think what we have seen is because they have um put changes in place on immigration is that this in many polls this has now slipped behind the economy as an issue. It's still really important to people but I think um they have recognized that there's been some change. I think the CDU CSU at the federal level have then gone too far in kind of declaring this issue solved and this is uh kind of raised alarm bells in people's heads because there's still um large numbers even if they're not as large but still large number of numbers of people coming to Germany um people are still complaining that not enough um immigrants who've committed crimes are being deported those kinds of things and if you then go out and go out there with the messaging of saying you know we've listened to you done let's move on to the next topic. Um, a lot of voters will feel that that that that's not enough and that they're still going to go for a party that is saying the same thing. Um, but I think there was a shift towards the economy and that's been quite noticeable and that people have felt that that at least there was a change in tone from the federal government on this issue of migration. >> You know, we we talked this evening about connections between the AFD and the MAGA movement in the United States. the AFD's surge, it is part of a wider international phenomenon. Are we seeing a wider political shift in the west that is gaining increasing momentum that will not go away anytime soon? >> I think that's an important realization that's beginning to sink in in Germany now as well because for too long I think the AFD was treated as a purely East German phenomenon. Um, and people have been trying to explain that away by saying East Germans don't really get democracy or they were socialized in a different way because of the the past. Um, when actually the moment you zoom out a little bit, you do see that in fellow European countries, we see very similar uh trends. If you look at Austria, the the the FPU, the the farright party there is also polling at, you know, 38% or thereabouts. Um, similar figures in France. Um, so I think it's important to understand that this is an international thing. That's not to say that the same reasons that are behind that in Germany aren't also behind that globally. So it's not enough to just say, look, it's happening everywhere, so what can we do about it? Um, I think it is still for each government and a democracy to work out what it is that that voters actually want and try and um do something about that rather than kind of washing their hands off these these issues and saying, you know, it's an international trend that we can't affect. >> Historian and author Katya Hoyer. Katya, we appreciate your insights tonight. We appreciate you being part of our coverage. It it turned out to be a history making um election night here in Germany. Thank you very much. Thank you. >> And here's a reminder now of our top story. The far-right alternative for Germany party is projected to win by a landslide in elections in the eastern German state of Saxony. But the party fell short of an absolute majority to govern on its own. And it's not clear if it will be able to find a coalition partner. You may have to wait until tomorrow to find out. You're watching DW News from Berlin. More coming up at the top of the hour. Our coverage of the election results will continue into the night. We'll be back here, of course, tomorrow. And don't forget, you can get all the latest news and information around the clock on our website. That's dw.com. For all of us here in Berlin, thanks for the company. We'll see you next time.