AfD sets sights on German federal rule after state landslide

Alice Weidel on Monday declared that Germany's Alternative for Germany will emerge as the strongest party in upcoming federal elections, delivering a confident assessment of the far-right movement's trajectory just one day after its decisive victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Weidel stated the AfD would secure a clear mandate to govern while dismissing the electoral prospects of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc.

"The CDU/CSU will never again be able to win a federal election. That's a fact," Weidel said, projecting that the gap between the conservatives and her party already stands at ten percentage points. She added that her objective is to widen this margin to at least 40 percent before the next federal contest.

Policy grievances

Weidel sharpened her criticism of CDU leader Friedrich Merz, asserting that no previous chancellor has faced such unpopularity or acted as such an obstacle to national development. "The people in this country no longer want business as usual — with illegal migration, open borders, skyrocketing crime rates among foreign nationals, refused deportations, a disastrous energy policy leading to the highest energy prices in the world, and rampant deindustrialization that is breaking the backbone of Germany," she said.

She cited high taxes and an eroding education system as additional evidence of mainstream political failure, insisting that German voters are seeking fundamental change after decades of consensus governance.

Electoral dynamics

Weidel characterized the Saxony-Anhalt outcome as a dream result fueled by an extremely high turnout of nearly 80 percent, an influx of former non-voters, and voters migrating from rival parties. The AfD secured a landslide victory in Sunday's state election but fell short of an absolute majority.

The result nonetheless positions the party as a dominant force in eastern Germany's political landscape.