Reading the Tea Leaves: What Will Saxony-Anhalt’s Election Mean for Germany’s Federal Election?

Germany is in the midst of a Superwahljahr – with elections in six German states and a federal election which will mark the end of Angela Merkel’s time as Chancellor. In March, voters took to the polls in Baden-Würtemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. This Sunday, the last election in the run up to September 26 will take place in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Although it is a relatively small state, the looming question is whether the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany will beat out the CDU as the strongest party in the state? How will other parties fare?

Join the American Council on Germany for a discussion with political scientist Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker about Sunday’s election results – and what they might mean for German election campaigning in the coming months.

Originally from Halle an der Saale, since the summer of 2020, Prof. Dr. Christian Stecker has been a Visiting Professor at the Chair for Comparative Politics and German Government. He is currently on leave from the University of Mannheim’s Center for European Social Science Research. His research focuses on the design of democracies, federal systems, minority governance, and populist parties in parliaments.