The establishment’s fear of potential Alternative für Deutschland-led governments in eastern German states is intensifying, with leading politicians openly discussing unconstitutional measures to prevent or mitigate such an outcome.
The nationalist-populist AfD is consistently polling in the lead, reaching voter support as high as 38-40% in Saxony-Anhalt and 34-37% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, both heading into September elections.
In an interview published Tuesday by Der Spiegel, Reiner Haseloff, the former minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt, put forward the idea that students in the state could face severe consequences if the AfD were to take power, suggesting, among other things, that “high school diplomas and other qualifications from such a state [that is, one governed by the AfD] would no longer be automatically accepted by universities elsewhere.”
Haseloff also warned that “the exchange of security agencies as well as transfer funds from the EU, the federal government, and the fiscal equalization system would also be at risk,” explicitly linking electoral outcomes to the potential suspension of institutional cooperation and financial flows.
His rhetoric escalated further as he said the AfD’s speeches reminded him of 1932, “when the NSDAP entered parliament in the Free State of Anhalt through free elections.”
Bodo Ramelow, former minister-president of Thuringia and current vice president of the Bundestag, echoed Haseloff’s concerns. Ramelow cautioned AfD voters that if the party wins, they should not complain when “democratic and constitutional standards erode and an authoritarian, nationalist course” takes hold. He added, “One must consciously decide whether one wants to preserve this democracy and this freedom.”
Other political figures have argued for direct resistance within state institutions should the AfD achieve power. Sebastian Fiedler, the SPD’s domestic policy spokesman in the Bundestag, described a possible AfD-led state as “a kind of enemy territory” for which “our federal system” is not designed. Raising the issue of handling sensitive information, he stated: “As a civil servant, I too am bound by the Basic Law. And then I’m supposed to hand over the most sensitive data to extremists? I’d rather just hit the delete button.”
Such remarks imply a willingness to obstruct, or even destroy state-held information rather than comply with results of democratic elections deemed ‘undesirable’ by the establishment.
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, told Junge Freiheit already in November 2025, “What we are seeing is sheer fear and panic in the face of the will of the people and preparations for open sabotage of the rule of law.”
Leftist and centrist ruling parties in a number of German states—including Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Pommern— have already taken steps to ‘AfD-proof’ their administrations.
As the AfD continues to gain voter support for their a platform of sovereignty, migration control, and opposition to green and progressive policies, mainstream politicians appear increasingly willing to resort to undemocratic measures to ‘save democracy.’
