Far-Right Victory Tests Germany's 'Firewall' Against Extremism

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, granting a small party enough seats to potentially determine whether the far-right can form Germany’s first far-right-led state government since World War II.

After Nazi rule, Germany rebuilt its democracy with unprecedented, robust safeguards against extremism. Yet the AfD’s breakthrough shows these barriers are not enough to prevent far-right forces from becoming dominant electoral powers across Europe, according to Axios.

The AfD more than doubled its 20.8% share from 2021, achieving its highest-ever vote total in a state-level election, surpassing the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which received 17%.

The newly formed BSW (Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – For Reason and Justice), which has not ruled out cooperation with the AfD, barely crossed the 5% threshold needed for parliamentary representation.

According to an Axios report, if combined, the AfD and BSW would hold 43 seats—just one more than a majority.

The BSW, a populist party, blends far-left economic policies with far-right immigration stances and advocates strengthening ties with Russia. But such calculations may not be sufficient.

On Sunday, co-chair of the BSW, Amira Mohamed Ali, stated the party would not support AfD candidate Olaf Scholz or CDU leader Sven Schulze as chancellor.

Instead, she favors an independent prime minister who governs in coalition with both the BSW and the AfD—requiring backing from the latter, though Scholz rejected the idea.

Scholz hinted on Sunday that he might convince some members of other parties to switch allegiance to help secure a majority.

The AfD previously led in vote count once in 2024 but never held power.

In 2024, the party came first in Thuringia, marking the first victory for a far-right party since World War II—but other parties blocked its participation in government. Sunday’s results represent the party’s strongest performance ever.

Axios reports that Trump allies’ support for the far-right AfD has become a transatlantic point of tension during Germany’s 2025 federal elections.

Elon Musk bolstered the AfD’s position on X by stating the party alone could “save Germany,” appearing in a video at an AfD campaign rally.

Before the elections, Vice President J.D. Vance met with the AfD’s leader and declared at the Munich Security Conference that there is no room for isolationist politics—or what is known as “firewalls”—referring to mainstream parties’ refusal to govern with the AfD.

Intelligence agencies in Saxony-Anhalt classified the AfD’s regional branch as a far-right extremist organization.

Scholz, the AfD’s candidate for state premier (age 35), sparked controversy over his stance on Nazi Germany’s past. At party events, the host chants “Sieg” (victory), to which supporters respond “Mund,” using a call-and-response pattern based on splitting his surname—what the Central Council of Jews in Germany sees as echoing Nazi-era chants.

Scholz also refused to label the Holocaust as humanity’s worst crime, saying he does not dare categorize all crimes.

Far-right movements across Europe are taking divergent paths. Viktor Orbán lost power in Hungary this spring after 16 years, while Giorgia Meloni leads Italy’s longest uninterrupted government since World War II.

In France, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, is the early frontrunner in the 2027 presidential race.

Germany’s post-war democratic foundations were laid amid the devastation inflicted by the Nazis on the Weimar Republic, according to Axios.

The 1949 Basic Law embraces the concept of “fortified democracy” (or defensive democracy) to counter movements seeking to undermine the constitutional order.

The AfD has outlined a program detailing how it would use state power, including rewriting intelligence agency mandates, allowing homeschooling, expanding government authority over school textbooks, ending public broadcasting agreements with neighboring states, creating a deportation task force, and requiring state-funded organizations to demonstrate a “core national stance.”

German officials, including the defense minister, have raised concerns about restricting intelligence sharing due to fears over the AfD’s ties to Russia.