US President Donald Trump has welcomed the AfD election victory in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state elections, describing Sunday’s result as a “truly great night” for what he called the “populist party”.
Trump did not refer to the party by its official name, Alternative for Germany (AfD), in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a truly great night,” Trump wrote, attributing the result to growing opposition to Germany’s immigration policies.
He ended the post with “MGGA”, adapting his familiar campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” to “Make Germany Great Again”.
AfD secures strong result
The AfD, which is already the main opposition force in Germany, secured a major victory over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU in Saxony-Anhalt.
The party, known for its anti-immigration rhetoric and pro-Russian positions, won almost 44% of the vote, compared with around 17% for the CDU, according to the results cited.
Saxony-Anhalt is a relatively economically disadvantaged state in eastern Germany and was formerly considered a stronghold of the country’s centre-right.
The result has been described as a political earthquake in Germany, with the far right now closer than ever to taking power at state level for the first time since 1945.
Trump allies celebrate result
Several prominent figures associated with Trump have also praised the AfD’s performance, including the former US ambassador to Germany and billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, a longstanding supporter of the AfD, was among the first to congratulate the party.
Commenting in German on a post by AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, Musk wrote “Gut gemacht!” (“Well done!”).
Musk has previously rejected descriptions of the AfD as a far-right party, while the party’s opponents and Germany’s political establishment have repeatedly characterised it as far-right.
Also read: AfD says ‘democracy demands’ rivals work with party
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