A new poll published by Infratest Dimap on May 7, 2026 puts the AfD at 41% in Saxony-Anhalt — the highest support ever recorded by any party in a German state. The far-right party leads all rivals by a wide margin ahead of the state election on September 6. The CDU, which currently runs the state government under Premier Sven Schulze, came second at 26%. The Left Party polled at 12%, with the SPD at 7%, and the BSW and Greens both at 4%.
A result of 41% is striking, but it does not automatically mean the AfD will govern. Under German electoral rules, a party needs an absolute majority — at least 50% — to form a government alone. Every other major party has publicly ruled out entering a coalition with the AfD, a policy widely known as the Brandmauer, or firewall. That means the AfD would still need to gain another 9 percentage points to rule without a partner. This situation has played out before: in Thuringia in 2024, the AfD won 32.8% of the vote — the first time a far-right party had come first in a German state election since World War II — but still could not form a government because no other party would work with them.
For internationals living in Germany, this is a poll worth watching closely. The AfD has publicly called for large-scale deportations and priority housing for quote native Germans. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, classified the party as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation in May 2025, though a Cologne court issued an injunction in 2026 blocking the public use of that label while legal proceedings continue. The September election in Saxony-Anhalt will be one of the clearest tests yet of how far those positions carry at the ballot box – and what direction German politics is moving in.
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