Standfirst: The result has intensified fears that xenophobic and far-right ideas are moving from the political margins towards normalisation, despite the party’s isolation by its rivals.
Germany’s Jewish organisations have expressed shock and alarm after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won elections in Saxony-Anhalt, securing enough support to come close to governing the federal state alone. The result, reported by ZDF on 7 September 2026, has raised fears over the country’s direction and the growing strength of xenophobic and right-extremist politics.
Josef Schuster, president of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, described the outcome as “terrible”. He stressed that a party classified as right-extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution had come close to securing sole power in a German state. Charlotte Knobloch, the council’s former president, said the result made her “afraid” and that she could “barely recognise my homeland”.
A warning beyond one regional election
For Germany’s Jewish community, the result is not simply a change in the balance of power in Saxony-Anhalt. It is a sign that a party facing political isolation can continue to expand its support. The AfD’s advance demonstrates that efforts by other parties to keep it outside government have not prevented it from winning a larger share of the electorate and a greater proportion of mandates.
That development points to a wider crisis of confidence in traditional parties and existing democratic institutions. The strength of the AfD suggests that political exclusion alone has not addressed the reasons behind the radicalisation of part of the electorate. At the same time, its electoral success gives greater visibility and legitimacy to arguments that have previously been treated as belonging to the political fringe.
Knobloch said a significant part of the electorate had rejected the principles of democracy, security and tolerance that had allowed Germany’s Jewish community to regard the country as its home again. Her reaction reflects the particular weight of the result for Jewish organisations, which see the rise of a party designated right-extremist as a direct threat to the political environment in which Jewish life is conducted.
Fears of normalising exclusionary politics
The increased support for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt threatens to normalise xenophobic, anti-immigration and far-right narratives. Once such positions gain electoral strength, they risk moving beyond campaign rhetoric and into practical politics. That could create greater tension along racial and ethnic lines, while making exclusionary ideas more difficult for mainstream institutions to challenge.
The concern is not limited to what the AfD says during an election. The party’s stronger position can influence the terms of political debate, placing pressure on other parties to respond to anti-immigration demands and hard-line nationalist arguments. Even without the AfD governing alone, its performance gives those ideas a larger platform and makes their presence in public life harder to dismiss.
The result therefore carries significance beyond Saxony-Anhalt. It shows that the AfD’s isolation has not stopped its electoral growth and that the party can benefit from dissatisfaction with established political forces. For Jewish organisations, the combination of rising support and the party’s right-extremist classification makes the outcome particularly alarming.
Isolation alone cannot answer the challenge
The response outlined by the material requires more than keeping the AfD outside formal governing coalitions. It calls for sustained work on the causes of radicalisation, including stronger and better civic education, action against hate speech and disinformation from Russia, and tighter oversight of far-right organisations.
Such measures would seek to defend democratic institutions while addressing the conditions in which extremist narratives gain influence. They would also place greater responsibility on the state to ensure that far-right networks cannot operate without effective scrutiny or lawful limits. Political isolation remains part of that response, but the election shows that it has not, by itself, reduced the AfD’s appeal.
The immediate consequence is a deeper sense of insecurity among Germany’s Jewish organisations and a sharper debate over whether the country’s democratic safeguards are keeping pace with the growth of right-extremist politics. The unresolved question is how far established parties and institutions are prepared to go in confronting both the AfD’s electoral strength and the social forces sustaining it.
Should Germany focus primarily on isolating the AfD politically, or put greater emphasis on civic education and action against radicalisation?
