Politics
AfD's Saxony-Anhalt landslide draws Merz 'ethnic cleansing' rebuke and Trump praise
September 10, 2026 at 07:59 AM · Updated 36d ago
Coverage
4 reports · 1 in Arabic, 3 in English · over 31 hours
AJAl Jazeera Arabic
الهزيمة في ماغديبورغ والحساب في برلين.. بدء الصراع على السلطة في حزب ميرتس
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TGThe Guardian
‘I fear the price could be high’: Inside the German state where the far-right surged
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TGThe Guardian
Merz accuses AfD of ‘ethnic cleansing’ policy and cancels call with Trump
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BNBBC News
Germany's Merz attacks AfD in stormy debate after far-right election win
(opens the publisher’s site)Germany's far-right AfD won nearly 44% in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, prompting Chancellor Merz to accuse it of "ethnic cleansing" and cancel a call with Trump.
- The AfD took nearly 44% of the vote in Sunday's state election, falling three seats short of an absolute majority and halving the CDU's tally to 17.2%.
- Merz told the Bundestag that the AfD's "remigration" policy was "nothing but a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin colour."
- Trump praised the party's "really big night" on Truth Social, prompting Merz to cancel a planned phone call with the US president.
- AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund is seeking other parties' backing to become state premier, a bid Merz decried as "electoral fraud."
Latest developments
- Sep 10 — German commentators are speculating that Merz faces his deepest crisis since taking office in May 2025, citing his falling popularity and leadership style.
- Sep 10 — Commentators in Die Welt and Die Zeit have described the election defeat as triggering an internal power struggle within the CDU over the chancellorship.
- Sep 10 — Some German columnists have raised the possibility of Merz resigning before the scheduled 2029 federal elections.