The state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt has approved a renewed corona emergency for the seventh consecutive year, allowing the regional government to continue drawing on a special pandemic fund in 2026, despite the COVID-19 crisis having largely subsided.
The decision, passed on December 16th, follows approval earlier this month by the cabinet led by Minister-President Reiner Haseloff of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Under the renewed emergency declaration, the state plans to spend up to €790 million next year, including on hospital renovations and digitalisation projects.
Saxony-Anhalt has declared a corona emergency every year since 2020. All other German federal states ended comparable emergency measures by no later than 2024. The corona special fund was initially set at around €2 billion, more than half of which had been spent by October 2025. Hundreds of millions of euros more are earmarked for 2026, with repayments scheduled to begin in 2029 in annual instalments of €100 million.
The move has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) voted against the measure. AfD spokesman Jan Moldenhauer described the decision as a “brazen budget trick,” while AfD MP Patrick Harr said the party is considering a constitutional court challenge.
Concerns have also been raised by oversight bodies. The Saxony-Anhalt State Audit Office warned that long-term reliance on emergency declarations to justify spending is inappropriate. Its president, Kay Barthel, noted that more than half of the 63 measures financed through the special fund lack a clear link to the pandemic.
The Federation of Taxpayers in Saxony-Anhalt echoed those concerns. Its state chairman, Ralf Seibicke, said a legal challenge before the state constitutional court was being considered. Green MP Olaf Meister described the repeated emergency declaration as “real satire.”
Criticism has also come from the federal level. Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), accused the state government of misusing the emergency framework for electoral advantage. She called for federal intervention under Article 37 of Germany’s Basic Law, a provision allowing federal oversight of a state—an instrument that has never been used in the history of the Federal Republic.
