Germany's far-right AfD thanks Elon Musk after historic state election win
Germany's far-right AfD scored a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, with its leader publicly thanking Elon Musk for his support, while a French minister called the result a serious moment for Europe.
Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) achieved a historic result in Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt state election, more than doubling its previous support and moving to the brink of a level of power no far-right party has held in Germany since the second world war.
Following the projection, AfD's lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund thanked Elon Musk on X for his support and his clear perspective on current political developments, expressing hope for strong cooperation going forward. His message came after Musk praised AfD co-founder Alice Weidel in German when she posted about the projected win. US president Donald Trump also shared a screenshot of the election projection on Truth Social without comment, which was later reposted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who called it a historic win for the 'pragmatic' AfD.
Election results
Exit polls put AfD's support at 44.4%, higher than forecast and far ahead of the Christian Democrats (CDU) of chancellor Friedrich Merz, who trailed at around 18.4%. The far-left Die Linke came third with 9.3%, followed by the Social Democrats on 8.4% and the Greens on 8.7%. It remains unclear whether AfD can form a government, since it has ruled out coalitions and mainstream parties have refused to cooperate with it.
European reaction
France's Europe minister, Benjamin Haddad, described the result as a serious moment for Europe, saying nationalism and xenophobia are never a solution and calling for anger and fears to be addressed with humility. Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said only idiots or traitors could celebrate AfD's triumph in Germany.
The German Economic Institute warned that AfD's immigration policy would be devastating for Saxony-Anhalt, a state with an ageing, shrinking population that relies heavily on foreign workers. Critics have also raised concerns that an AfD-led state government, given the party's Kremlin-friendly stance, could pose risks to sensitive information security. The party has rejected these claims and says it intends to reform the domestic intelligence service, which it considers biased.
