National mainstream leaders are considering proposals to potentially stop federal funding to Saxony-Anhalt, which is part of the fiscal equalization system transferring money from wealthier states to poorer ones. This funding, amounting to €2.8 billion for Saxony-Anhalt in 2025, could theoretically be halted due to rule-of-law issues, although significant legal challenges exist.
The AfD plans to counter such moves.
The AfD’s national leaders have set up a “Working Group on Government Participation” to start preparing legislation for the state legislature and assess ways the party, both nationally and at the state level, could prevent attempts to hinder an AfD-led state government through legal means.
“We have received significant support from the party leadership,” stated Martin Reichardt, leader of the AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt branch. “Our legal department is actively involved and prepared for scenarios where our political opponents might attempt to obstruct our government work,” he added. “We will defend ourselves using appropriate legal mechanisms.”
Despite these plans, Gordon Köhler, an AfD politician from Saxony-Anhalt who attended the Salzburg meeting with FPÖ officials, emphasized that the party wanted to avoid intense polarization similar to that following President Donald Trump’s second term in the U.S.
While the AfD aims for stringent controls on asylum-seekers, he noted, the party does not want chaotic and violent imagery associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations on American streets.
“I consider this a tension — taking immediate action, but also governing effectively and fostering unity,” Köhler said. “We won’t reach everyone — that’s impossible — but the aim is to reduce tension and avoid the high emotions currently prevalent.”
He concluded, “A functioning society is essential. Constant tension is unhealthy for everyone.”
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