The Saxony-Anhalt branch of Alternative for Germany (AfD) re-elected state chairman Martin Reichardt with 89 percent of delegate votes and unveiled a 100-day action plan for government, during a party congress in Magdeburg on Saturday. Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund presented a ten-point programme that includes deporting irregular migrants “from minute one,” imposing mandatory community labour on asylum seekers, withdrawing from national public broadcasting treaties, and banning rainbow flags from schools. The party, which the German domestic intelligence agency classifies as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation, currently leads opinion polls in the eastern state with around 40 percent support, eight weeks before the 6 September election.

AfD officials framed the vote as a historic turning point. Siegmund told delegates that citizens wanted “political change” and that other parties “only deal with us, they have no positions of their own.” Reichardt attacked the incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) minister-president, Sven Schulze, accusing him of lying about ruling out cooperation with the Left party and describing his government as a “pseudoconservative” administration “dangling on the strings of left-wing extremists.” The CDU has not yet formally responded to the programme, but the party has repeatedly excluded any coalition with the AfD. From Berlin, political analysts note that the AfD’s rhetoric aims to delegitimise the current government and position itself as the sole authentic conservative force.

The 100-day plan would, if implemented, reshape state institutions. It proposes cutting all public funding for party-affiliated foundations, democracy education programmes, and what the AfD calls the “asylum and integration industry.” Schools would be required to fly the German national flag daily, and children of asylum seekers would be taught in separate classes. The plan also mandates a parliamentary inquiry into pandemic policies. Financial analysts point out that Saxony-Anhalt’s strained budget raises questions about the feasibility of simultaneous spending pledges, such as driving licence subsidies and expanded police recruitment. The programme was not put to a vote at the congress because the text was not finalised in time, according to party members, leaving its formal status as a campaign declaration rather than an adopted resolution.

Saxony-Anhalt, a sparsely populated eastern state, has become a stronghold for the AfD, which has capitalised on economic discontent and anti-immigration sentiment. The state branch has been under official surveillance since 2021. The re-election of Reichardt, who recently faced scrutiny over a photograph that critics say shows him performing a Hitler salute, underscores the party’s internal consolidation around its most radical figures. The election on 6 September will test whether the AfD can translate poll leads into a governing majority. If it falls short of an absolute majority, coalition arithmetic would likely force it into opposition, as all other parties have rejected cooperation. The next formal step is the state election, with the AfD expected to campaign heavily on its 100-day pledges.