Germany, vote in Saxony Anhalt: the CDU stops the ultra-right

Angela Merkel’s CDU won in the regional elections in Saxony Anhalt, considered the last major electoral test before the federal vote in September. According to the exit polls, the CDU of regional premier Reiner Haseloff obtained 35%, a sharp increase from 29.8% five years ago. On the other hand, Afd’s far right retreats, albeit slightly, compared to the last elections, passing from 24.3% to 23.5%, confirming itself as the second party in the regional parliament. The election results today are “a clear message” against the German far right, said East German Lander Christian Democratic Premier Reiner Haseloff who, interviewed by German television Ard, said the reason for the CDU’s success was l unity of the party. But then he admitted that it “will not be easy to form a coalition” of government, excluding the possibility of a dialogue with Afd, the second force of the regional parliament. The exit polls also recorded a not so exciting result for the Greens in the first electoral test since the German ecological group chose Annalena Baerbock as candidate for chancellor in the September elections last April. The Greens have reached 6%, just over 52% obtained five years ago. And much less than what was achieved in another eastern German state, the neighboring Brandenburg, where in 2019 the Greens obtained 10.8%.