By Miguel Sorans, a leader of Aocialist Left (IS) (Argentina) and the International Workers’ Unity–Fourth International (IWU-FI)
11 September 2026. In the regional election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 43.8 per cent of the vote, marking the first decisive victory for a far-right party in a German state since the Second World War.
The result, which aligned with most pre-election polling, reflects the ongoing decline of German capitalism—a trend increasingly described as “the end of the German economic miracle”. The flip side of this economic and social crisis is the plunging popularity of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government, which succeeded Angela Merkel’s administration. Approval ratings for Merz stand at just 13 per cent, the lowest recorded for any chancellor in recent history.
While the far-right AfD more than doubled its 2021 result, the CDU collapsed to 17.2 per cent, down from 37.1 per cent in 2021. The Social Democrats (SPD) also continued their slide, taking 9.2 per cent. The Greens polled 8.9 per cent, The Left (Die Linke) won 8.5 per cent, and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) received 5.2 per cent.
Far-right politician Ulrich Siegmund secured 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, leaving him three seats short of an absolute majority.
Far-Right Surge and the Legacy of the Former GDR
The anticipated advance of the German far right mirrors broader international trends seen with figures such as Donald Trump, Giorgia Meloni, and Marine Le Pen in the European Union; Milei, Katz, de la Espriella in Latin America. It represents a protest vote by a working-class electorate disillusioned with mainstream parties that have overseen falling living standards and social stagnation. In Germany, this trend takes a distinct neo-Nazi form, particularly in the east. The region consists of former German Democratic Republic (GDR) territories that were governed under Soviet-style rule from 1945 to 1989, and which remain economically disadvantaged today.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, promises of social equality between east and west were never realised.
After the collapse of Nazism in 1945, Germany was divided into the capitalist West (Federal Republic of Germany) with Bonn as its capital; and the state-controlled East (GRD), with Berlin as capital, part of the countries where the bourgeoisie was expropriated (Poland, Romania, Hungary, etc.) under the control of the former USSR. Although the GDR operated under an authoritarian regime of fake socialism, state measures guaranteed basic needs such as employment, housing, health, and education. Life was grey and with no democratic rights and repression of dissent.
When mass mobilisation brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989, capitalist restoration followed, instead of advancing to a superior form of socialism. State-owned enterprises were privatised within four years, leading to the loss of 70 per cent of regional jobs and plunging entire areas into economic decline. Millions believe capitalism would bring about prosperity.
Thirty-five years later, the east-west divide persists. According to a recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, eastern workers earn nearly 16 per cent less than their western counterparts. Meanwhile, broader economic instability is impacting the entire country.
AfD strategists have leveraged this discontent, tapping into nostalgia for former state-guaranteed protections. In Saxony-Anhalt, Siegmund campaigned on a Simson moped—a iconic vehicle from the GDR era—to signal cultural affinity with local voters.
Nationally, the AfD’s momentum has also grown since it was founded in 2013. After securing 20.6 per cent in the February 2025 federal elections, recent polls now place the party at 27 per cent.
This triumph strengthens Trump in Europe and his policy of creating conflicts among the member states. AfD’s anti-immigration platform and “Germany for Germans” rhetoric echo the “Make America Great Again” messaging of Donald Trump, who has publicly offered support to the party.
Berlin Offers Potential Counterweight for the Left
Despite the AfD’s gains, a far-right government is not guaranteed. Anyway, its growth is worrying, particularly for workers and the youth in Europe.
Political fragmentation across Germany means alternative shifts are occurring simultaneously. In the upcoming Berlin state election on 20 September, Die Linke has gained ground in opinion polls.
The party’s candidate for mayor in Berlin, Elif Eralp—a 45-year-old lawyer born to Turkish immigrant parents—has gained popularity with proposals to expropriate housing from investment funds and establish subsidised neighbourhood canteens offering meals for three euros in the Kietzkantinen (La Rason, Spanish State, 27 August 2026).
This reveals that sectors of the working class, women and youth a polarisation and the search for left options. In the February 2025 federal elections, Die Linke secured 8.5 per cent nationally, yielding 64 seats in parliament. The party performed particularly well among younger voters, capturing 25 per cent of the youth vote and strong support from women opposing the far right’s social platform. At that election, Die Linke secured a 19.9 per cent. Die Linke is a centre-left alliance of Maoists, Trotskyist groups and independents.
Capitalist Economic Stagnation Drives Political Volatility
Germany’s political shifts come against a backdrop of broader economic difficulty, as part of the global crisis of capitalism-imperialism. Europe’s largest economy entered recession in 2023 and is experiencing its prolonged period of weakness since the post-war era. Corporate insolvencies have reached a 20-year high.
Major industrial employers have announced substantial workforce reductions:
- Volkswagen: Estimating up to 100,000 job cuts over coming years.
- Bosch: Planning more than 20,000 redundancies in Germany before 2030.
- ZF Friedrichshafen: Expecting to eliminate 14,000 roles by 2028 (DW 20 July 2026).
In response, industrial unions such as IG Metall have organised widespread demonstrations against corporate cost-cutting measures and restructuring plans.
As successive capitalist liberal governments (which includes the actual social democrats) rely on austerity policies and public spending cuts to navigate the downturn, public trust in traditional institutions continues to erode—creating the environment in which the far right has expanded its support.
What lies ahead for the working class and young people are further cuts to social spending in areas such as education, healthcare, and pensions, increased labour flexibility “to make German companies more competitive”, and a higher defence budget. The only way forward for working people and youth to defeat these austerity measures and the far right is to mobilise in the streets under new trade union and political leadership.
