The far-right Alternative for Germany party won elections in Saxony-Anhalt for the first time

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, gaining 43.8% of the vote, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti news agency reports.

The result of the campaign dealt a serious blow to the positions of the ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union party led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to an ARD poll, 87% of Saxony-Anhalt residents are dissatisfied with the federal government.

According to TASS, a record voter turnout was 77%.

Saxony-Anhalt is one of the small lands of Germany, annexed to Germany after the absorption of the German Democratic Republic. Its population is just over 2.1 million, but the result underscores the growth of the AfD since it was founded in 2013. According to a survey by the INSA sociological institute, the AfD’s national rating is 28 percent, well ahead of the ruling party (20 percent).

The Alternatives for Germany program includes promoting traditional values in schools and cultural institutions, tightening immigration policies and reforming public broadcasting.

In addition, the party proposes to educate refugee children in segregated classrooms, ban rainbow flags in schools and introduce mandatory daily raising of the national flag, as well as singing the anthem at school events.

Other initiatives include establishing civilian patrols, expanding Russian language teaching and halting construction of new wind farms.