“Tsunami of anger and frustration”, “political earthquake”, “Soltz government has paid the price for its choices”, “exemplary punishment of the federal government’s policy”, “co-government parties turn a blind eye and just carry on”. These are just a few German newspaper headlines about the election result in Thuringia, with the far-right Alternative for Germany and Saxony, where he finally cut the thread second after the Christian Democrats by an insignificant margin.

Chancellor Olaf Solz spoke of a “bitter” election result “for us as well”, speaking at a meeting of Social Democratic MPs, saying that “AfD is harming Germany. It weakens the economy, divides society and destroys the country’s reputation.”

As for the Social Democrats, Chancellor Solz simply stated that they held their own. Of course, this remains to be seen, because since yesterday, party officials have been raising questions about the suitability of the chancellor, as well as the overall progress and the constant bickering within the coalition government.

AfD: “We have a mandate to govern”

For his part, the co-chairman of the Greens, Omid Nuripour, essentially admitting the defeat of the Greens in both states, said that “the co-government is also responsible for the results in East Germany”. Liberal vice-president Wolfgang Kubicki, with his party effectively wiped off the political map of Saxony and Thuringia, says there is a question of “legitimizing” the government.

As for the Far Right, AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Krupala are sending messages of victory for the future but also warnings, starting primarily with their “magnificent” as they call it, victory in Thuringia.

“They cannot ignore us in the formation of the government”, “we have a clear mandate to govern”, “the citizens have sent a message that they want a change of policy” they have been saying since yesterday, setting the tone for the next period and while elections in Brandenburg are also coming up on September 22 where they also lead the polls.

Complex post-election processes to anarchy

However, both in Thuringia and in Saxony post-election scenarios are currently complicated and it will take time, as mainly the Christian Democrats declare, to form viable state governments.

All exclude any cooperation with the Alternative for Germany while the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance, a third force that seems to have the “key” to the developments, although winking at a position in power next to the Christian Democrats, sets federal policy conditions: not in parking American missiles in Germany from 2026 and change of navigation to the Ukrainian one.

The risk of anarchy seems likely, at least for the immediate future. The only thing that is certain is that both in Thuringia and in Saxony the solid parliamentary power of the Far Right will be able to overturn political decisions and bills. And it certainly also cannot be ignored, numerically and now institutionally.