{"id":61930,"date":"2026-09-05T09:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/afd-campaigns-at-family-festival-in-magdeburg\/05\/09\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T13:26:17","slug":"afd-campaigns-at-family-festival-in-magdeburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/afd-campaigns-at-family-festival-in-magdeburg\/05\/09\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"AfD campaigns at &#8216;family festival&#8217; in Magdeburg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Supporters queue in lines stretching dozens of metres for a photo with him: AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund. The 35-year-old is standing for the party in Sunday&#8217;s state election in Saxony-Anhalt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The state&#8217;s Office for the Protection of the Constitution \u2014 a department of the Germany&#8217;s interior ministry \u2014 has classified the Saxony-Anhalt AfD as a confirmed far-right extremist organisation. Siegmund, whose TikTok following has made him the party&#8217;s poster boy in eastern Germany, has been received like a celebrity all over the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I finally want to make policy for our own country again,&#8221; Siegmund tells Euronews. He wants to overhaul migration policy, freeing up money he says is &#8220;currently being handed out around the world, for people who are here illegally, who commit crimes here.&#8221; Policy, he says, should serve &#8220;our own interest, for our own country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Within his first 100 days in office, Siegmund plans to introduce a &#8220;work obligation for asylum seekers.&#8221; Fire service driving licences and the display of flags at schools are also near the top of his list. &#8220;Of course this isn&#8217;t turning the really big wheel, but these are the first concrete steps where you can see the first progress across all areas of this society.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\"><\/p>\n<p>AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt on 04.09.2026 &#8211; Donogh McCabe\/Euronews<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At the &#8220;family festival,&#8221; as the AfD calls it, near Magdeburg&#8217;s city centre, thousands cheer and celebrate their &#8220;Ulli.&#8221; His face is emblazoned on countless T-shirts and placards. Chants of &#8220;We are the people&#8221; repeatedly cut through the crowd; some supporters also chant &#8220;We are the Wende.&#8221; Between speeches, musicians take the stage and techno beats blare from the speakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Here at the &#8220;family festival&#8221;, as the AfD calls it, near the Magdeburg city centre, thousands cheer and celebrate their &#8220;Ulli&#8221;. His likeness is emblazoned on countless T-shirts and placards. Time and again chants of &#8220;We are the people&#8221; cut through the crowd. Some AfD supporters also chant &#8220;We are the Wende&#8221;. In between, musicians take to the stage or techno beats blare from the speakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The party has rolled out its heavy artillery: well-known figures including Thuringian AfD politician Stephan Brandner and co-chair Tino Chrupalla fire up the crowd. Whenever speakers mention the CDU, SPD, or other parties, the crowd boos and whistles, some shouting &#8220;Shame.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">AfD&#8217;s supporters are hoping for a 180-degree turnaround in Saxony-Anhalt&#8217;s state politics, led by Siegmund. &#8220;I support the AfD and I love Ulrich. Once you&#8217;ve done all sorts of things \u2014 rape, stabbings \u2014 then you can&#8217;t live here, you have to go, and he makes sure of that. That&#8217;s already good,&#8221; Gerda tells Euronews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The pensioner has travelled specially from Berlin, wanting to attend an AfD event in person, having already watched several on YouTube. &#8220;Gerda&#8221; isn&#8217;t her real name; like many at the event, she doesn&#8217;t want to give it, fearing possible consequences.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Visitors at the AfD\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"808\" height=\"454\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/eb05967e221b93db5cc744110ff595eeaaf82e34bfe129869e478d678af938ce\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w808_h454%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Feuronews_us_news_articles_566%2F390d8520aebb6597e181cfae9af0c3a6.jpg\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\"><\/p>\n<p>Visitors at the AfD &#8211; Donogh McCabe\/Euronews<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Even a heavy downpour doesn&#8217;t stop fans from waiting for Siegmund&#8217;s appearance. For them, everything is at stake: for the first time, the AfD could govern at state level \u2014 as part of a coalition, or possibly even alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It would mark the first time a far-right party holds power at state-level in Germany&#8217;s post WWII era.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">CDU politician: working with the AfD would spell the end of the Union<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Current polls put the AfD at around 41%, according to Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of ZDF. The CDU trails far behind in second place with 23%, and the Left party is third with 11.5%. In the last election, in 2021, the AfD won 20.8%, while the CDU won by a clear margin with 37.1%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This time the AfD hopes to win the election outright \u2014 but that might still not be enough to form a government. The party may fall short of the votes needed to govern alone, and it rejects any coalition with the CDU. The CDU, in turn, rejects a coalition with the AfD, having adopted a formal incompatibility resolution, or so-called &#8220;firewall&#8221; against it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dennis Radtke, head of the CDU&#8217;s workers&#8217; wing (CDA), warns that his party would be finished if it formed a coalition with the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. &#8220;The moment we start working with this party, bringing it into positions of responsibility, the CDU is finished,&#8221; Radtke said on ZDF&#8217;s &#8220;Maybrit Illner&#8221; programme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Only the BSW can imagine tolerating an AfD-led government \u2014 that is, supporting an AfD single-party government with its votes without formally joining it. But the BSW is currently polling at four percent and could fail to clear the 5% threshold. The SPD and the Greens have also spent recent weeks hovering just below the threshold, though they have now climbed to 8.5% and 6% respectively.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Election posters in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt on 04.09.2026\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"808\" height=\"454\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/30a3c81a53367d0b0e86e10889d1fc28aa67b7fa215e6e521c82bbaf6ac89973\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w808_h454%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Feuronews_us_news_articles_566%2F765cdc33b7f3fdb031eb112787da5381.jpg\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\"><\/p>\n<p>Election posters in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt on 04.09.2026 &#8211; Donogh McCabe\/Euronews<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Lead Left party candidate optimistic<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Given current polling, Saxony-Anhalt may face a complicated coalition puzzle after the vote. A coalition between the AfD and CDU appears ruled out. A CDU\u2013Left party alliance, as the basis for a majority government with the SPD and Greens, also looks unrealistic for now, since the CDU&#8217;s incompatibility resolution applies to the Left party as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Just days ago, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said: &#8220;Both with the AfD and with the Left party there are such fundamental differences with the Union that cooperation is out of the question,&#8221; he told the &#8220;Magdeburger Volksstimme&#8221; and the &#8220;Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The mood in the state parliament has changed significantly in recent years, Eva von Angern, the Left party&#8217;s lead candidate, tells Euronews. A member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament since 2002, she says: &#8220;The climate is very hostile to women. Hate and incitement are what define a parliamentary sitting&#8221; \u2014 and this hostility has now spread into society and social media as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Despite the current forecasts, she says she is looking toward election day &#8220;optimistically.&#8221; She is &#8220;firmly convinced&#8221; the AfD will not manage to form a single-party government in Saxony-Anhalt: &#8220;People have understood. They want to fight for diversity in Saxony-Anhalt.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This text was translated with the help of artificial intelligence. Report a problem : [feedback-articles-en@euronews.com].<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/politics\/articles\/final-sprint-saxony-anhalt-vote-095545471.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporters queue in lines stretching dozens of metres for a photo with him: AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund. The 35-year-old is standing<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/afd-campaigns-at-family-festival-in-magdeburg\/05\/09\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/bd674bdf7cb4b0ff010f05abdf76ba39b2815350961bd6cec024c89b5c026dd6\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w1200%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_jpg\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Feuronews_us_news_articles_566%2F369516874dee333dece587b6c5b2c2e6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}