AfD Wins Saxony-Anhalt With 43.8% as Pro-Russian Message Gains Ground in Germany
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 10
AfD Wins Saxony-Anhalt With 43.8% as Pro-Russian Message Gains Ground in Germany
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 10
Summary
AfD’s blowout win in Saxony-Anhalt was driven in part by campaign themes that echoed Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Germany’s support for Ukraine.
Those messages cast Merz as sacrificing German interests for arms shipments, sanctions and a costly military buildup, while promising cheaper Russian gas and blaming Western leaders for the war.
The result deepens pressure on Merz just as Berlin’s ties with Moscow have sunk to their lowest point since the Cold War and he moves toward a harder line on Russia.
Russia has pushed the same arguments for years to fracture Western unity, and their traction in Germany now threatens to reshape politics in the EU’s biggest economy.