# Why East Germany is voting far right > A historian explains the AfD's surge in former East Germany and what mainstream parties got wrong. - Title: Why East Germany is voting far right · The New Yorker - Summary: A historian explains the AfD's surge in former East Germany and what mainstream parties got wrong. East German voters feel economically abandoned and want… - Keywords: afd, alternative for germany, east germany, saxony-anhalt, far right, katja hoyer, immigration, working class voters, german politics, election, firewall strategy, angela merkel - Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/can-east-germanys-cold-war-history-explain-the-rise-of-the-afd - Author: Isaac Chotiner - Published: 2026-09-08T22:46:03.931+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: afd, alternative for germany, east germany, saxony-anhalt, far right, katja hoyer, immigration, working class voters, german politics, election, firewall strategy, angela merkel ## AfD wins big in eastern state The far-right Alternative for Germany party won nearly 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, beating the center-right Christian Democrats by over 25 points and positioning itself to govern a German state for the first time. ## A decade of steady growth The AfD has risen continuously since around 2017, especially in the former East Germany. The difference now is they've reached numbers where other parties can no longer keep them out of power through a so-called firewall. ## Economic decline fuels the rise Working-class voters in the East feel economically worse off as the German economy stagnates and industrial jobs disappear. This mirrors patterns in America's Rust Belt and rural parts of other European countries. ## East Germany's unique voting pattern Unlike America's Rust Belt, which was already Republican-leaning before Trump, East German voters have historically shifted between far-left and far-right parties, showing less loyalty to establishment parties. ## Resentment of urban elites East Germans feel the establishment and urban elites are trying to impose a specific culture on the entire country. This resentment is particularly strong in the East and drives voters away from traditional parties. ## The firewall strategy failed Mainstream parties ignored AfD voters' concerns for years, especially on migration after Angela Merkel's 2015 refugee decision. With no room for democratic debate, voters turned to the AfD. > There was no room for people to say, actually, We don't really like this; it's going too far. ## Control, not culture Voters don't necessarily oppose immigration itself. They want the state to control who enters and ensure serious criminals are deported. The government's perceived loss of control since 2015 is the real issue. ## Labor migration versus asylum Germany needs qualified workers but hasn't separated labor migration from asylum migration. Voters understand the economic need but want the government to distinguish between the two categories. ## AfD is extreme even by far-right standards The AfD defines Germanness on ethnic grounds and promotes "remigration." Even France's far-right party has distanced itself from them, saying they're too extreme. ## Mainstream parties lost credibility The center-right got less than half the AfD's vote share on Sunday. Any attempt to moderate the AfD now fails because establishment parties can't dictate terms anymore. ## New leadership could shift votes England's new center-left Prime Minister Andy Burnham is more popular than his predecessor, showing that credible leadership can win back working-class voters from the far right. ## The far-left failed to capitalize The B.S.W., a far-left party that moved right on immigration, hasn't gained traction because it's too tied to one charismatic leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, and her idiosyncratic mix of policies. ## West Germany is the real outlier Far-right parties are rising across Europe. West Germany's loyalty to mainstream parties is unusual, not East Germany's shift to the AfD. West Germany had positive experiences with both major parties. ## East Germany's AfD support doubled In 2017, the AfD had 22% support in the East and 10% in the West. Now it's roughly 40% in the East and 20% in the West, showing the East as a canary in the coal mine. ## Pro-Russian sentiment matters East Germany's closer ties to the Soviet Union created lasting pro-Russian sentiment. The AfD exploits this by asking why Germany should support Ukraine when that money could fund schools. ## East Germany did reckon with the past Contrary to common belief, East Germany took Nazi history seriously through memorials like Buchenwald and films like "Stars." Memory culture differed from the West but wasn't absent. ## Voters see themselves as democratic Most East Germans don't see the AfD as a threat to democracy. They view their vote as a democratic expression after years of limited political choice, not a rejection of democracy itself. > They're not voting against democracy, or they think they're not. ## Broken promises from reunification The CDU promised no unemployment during reunification but delivered 20% unemployment afterward. East voters are transactional with politics, unlike West Germans with generational party loyalty. ## AfD offers economic solutions The AfD promises to rebuild nuclear energy and return to Russian gas and oil to lower energy prices. These economic proposals appeal to voters seeking relief, even if the geopolitical costs are problematic. ## Key takeaway East German voters feel economically abandoned and want state control over immigration and policy, not fascism. Mainstream parties ignored these concerns for years, creating space for the AfD to grow.