Merz: Germany faces 'tectonic shift' after AfD victory

Alex Ritzen (0:00)

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritzen and at 15h GMT on Monday 7th September, these are our main stories. The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expresses shock after the far-right AfD's decisive victory in state elections in the east of the country. Thousands attend the funeral of the convicted Serbian war criminal General Ratko Mladić in Belgrade. After talks with President Trump's envoys, President Zelensky says it's important to keep diplomacy going.

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The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he is shocked by the victory of the far-right party Alternative for Germany, the AfD. It won its biggest victory yet in elections in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, taking 44% of the vote, while Mr Merz's conservative CDU party came way behind with around 18%. The AfD, which has tapped into growing disillusionment with centrist parties, wants to, among other policies, ban LGBTQ rainbow flags in schools and have the children of refugees taught in segregated classes. Mr Merz said the country is facing a huge political shift. His words were spoken by a translator.

Friedrich Merz (1:28)

That's an election result which doesn't make it possible to continue with business as usual, and we don't. It has an impact on us, even on myself personally, and I also have to accept that this is the worst electoral defeat that the CDU has suffered in years, if not decades.

Obviously, there will have to be consequences.

Alex Ritzen (1:55)

The AfD's candidate in Saxony, Anhalt Ulrich Siegmund, said that his party's victory was a wake-up call for Germany.

Ulrich Siegmund (2:04)

We have achieved exactly what we wanted. We have written history.

People gave a clear political signal in this state. We need a fundamentally different political approach, putting our own interests, our own country first.

Alex Ritzen (2:18)

But the AfD is short of an absolute majority and other parties have ruled out governing with it. I asked our Berlin correspondent, Jessica Parker, who's in Saxony, Anhalt's capital, Magdeburg, what happens next.

Jessica Parker (2:31)

So Alternative for Deutschland is claiming it's in talks with some CDU members in terms of whether it can go on to form a state government. CDU, as a party, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party, has categorically denied that they will work with the AfD, but I think it's fair to say that some in the party are very unhappy at the idea of an alternative option, which is maybe trying to pile in with the far-left Dylinka party, which they also say they wouldn't work with. So I think a lot is up in the air at the moment. Another possibility that's been mooted is the idea that another small party, the BSV or BSW, could they give tacit support to Alternative for Deutschland to allow them to form a minority government. Ulrich Siegmann, the lead candidate, has always spoken about wanting to govern with a stable majority. He doesn't have that at the moment. So it looks like we are in the world of maybe deal-making, but options are rather limited because most parties will not work with Alternative for Deutschland as part of what is known as the firewall, the Brandemauer, even though that Brandemauer is coming under ever-growing pressure.

Alex Ritzen (3:40)

Chancellor Merz is expected to hold talks of the top ranks of the CDU. How worried do you think he now is about the AfD in the run-up to national elections?

Jessica Parker (3:52)

Well, national elections are, as things stand, some years away, but I'd flip that a little bit around. I'd say how worried are people in the CDU about Friedrich Merz and his leadership? He is suffering from very poor poll ratings.

He's not popular in Germany. And one of his stated missions was to try and bring the political center together in this coalition he has in Berlin with the SPD and deliver the reforms Germany needs to kickstart its economy. He's tried to take a harder line on immigration. And the idea was that that would see off Alternative for Germany and cut in to their support. But those reforms have dragged out. There are worries that they aren't very popular with people. So I think, yes, he is going to be worried. This is a destabilizing moment for his already embattled government. And there are, over the course of this year, and it's always a little bit difficult to judge how seriously to take them, but whispers over whether he can really see out his term in office.

Alex Ritzen (4:57)

And the rest of Europe and the EU in particular are watching this very closely.