German far-right AfD's lead candidate says he will govern Saxony-Anhalt alone

Far-right AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund said Friday he will become premier of Saxony-Anhalt only if his party wins an absolute majority and can govern alone.

Siegmund told ZDF’s Morgenmagazin that the AfD is not seeking a coalition in Sunday’s closely watched election in the eastern German state. He said he would take the top job only if he can carry out the program he put before voters.

“If someone wants to tackle the basic problems in the state such as migration, crazy energy policy, all the gender nonsense and so on — then I will gladly do that. But is there this partner? There isn’t in this state.”

He said other parties have shut the AfD out for a decade. “For 10 years people have wanted to ban us, for 10 years they have excluded us, for 10 years they vote our committee chairs out and deny us deputy speakers of the state parliament.”

“And we have accepted the realities and say: Fine, if no one wants to do it with us, then we just have to do it alone.”

Public broadcaster ZDF put the AfD at 41% in its latest poll, well ahead of its rivals. The current premier, Sven Schulze of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was second at 23%.

In the same poll, the socialist Left Party stood at 11.5%, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 8.5% and the Greens at 6%. The newer left-populist BSW was at 4%, and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) at 3%.

The state parliament normally has 83 seats, meaning 42 are needed to govern alone. If the AfD falls short, Magdeburg could face weeks of negotiations over who becomes premier.

Saxony-Anhalt’s domestic intelligence service has classified the AfD’s state branch as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization, citing anti-democratic aims and members’ ties to far-right groups. Mainstream parties have ruled out coalition talks with the AfD.

Speaking on the same program, CDU lead candidate Schulze ruled out formal coalitions not only with the AfD but also with the Left Party.

“There will be no coalition with the Left Party, there will be no coalition with the AfD. I would ideally like to lead the state from the centre,” he said. “I know the poll numbers. So please let us wait for the election result.”

If the AfD falls short, the scenario most often discussed is a CDU-led minority government with the SPD and possibly the Greens, surviving vote by vote. Even then, such an arrangement would likely still need Left Party support to command a majority in the state parliament called Landtag.