AfD Saxony-Anhalt support has reached 41%, raising concern among German state interior ministers before the eastern state’s election.
The May Infratest dimap poll put the Alternative for Germany ahead of the Christian Democratic Union at 26% and the Social Democratic Party at 7%.
Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Maier said officials must assess risks if the AfD gains power in Saxony-Anhalt. He cited the party’s contacts with authoritarian states and right-wing extremist groups.
Saxony-Anhalt, whose capital is Magdeburg, sits in eastern Germany. Its AfD branch has been classified by state intelligence as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation, according to German media reports.
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Brandenburg Interior Minister Jan Redmann and Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck also backed contingency planning. Poseck called for the issue to be discussed at the interior ministers’ conference in Hamburg from June 17 to 19.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund has said that 150 to 200 state administration posts may need to be replaced if the party wins, Maier said.
The AfD rejects extremist labels and remains represented in German parliaments. Analysts quoted in the source text said its rise reflects frustration over migration, costs, bureaucracy and weak reform delivery.
