AfD Pushes Draconian Anti-Immigrant and Regressive Cultural Agenda in Saxony-Anhalt Election Program
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The far-right Alternative for Germany party’s draft program for Saxony-Anhalt proposes mass deportations, forced labor for asylum seekers, and slashing support for integration, drawing sharp warnings from experts about likely violations of federal and EU law.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party notorious for its xenophobic and authoritarian positions, is preparing a draft program for a potential single-party government in Saxony-Anhalt. Led by Ulrich Siegmund, who seeks to become state premier, the party’s platform calls for the immediate deportation of migrants without residency permits, expanded detention, and the imposition of compulsory labor on asylum seekers—a move reminiscent of forced labor policies from darker chapters of history. The AfD also seeks to eliminate state funding for integration programs, dismissively labeling them an “asylum industry,” a term that demonizes efforts to support vulnerable newcomers.
The party’s proposals would bar children without permanent residency from regular schools, effectively denying them basic educational rights, and create a so-called “Remigration Task Force” to coordinate the state’s draconian asylum policy. Legal scholars have raised the alarm, noting that many of these measures are likely to violate German, European, and international law, and that deportation decisions are not even within state jurisdiction.
On labor shortages, the AfD’s so-called “return program” would offer bonuses to Germans living abroad to encourage repatriation, but the plan is vague and ignores the reality that the region’s economy depends on skilled immigrant labor. Economic researchers warn that the party’s anti-immigration dogma would only worsen Saxony-Anhalt’s chronic shortage of skilled workers, especially in critical sectors like health care.
In foreign policy, the draft calls for a dangerous rapprochement with Russia and an end to sanctions, a move that would undermine solidarity with Ukraine and embolden authoritarian regimes. The AfD also wants to expand Russian language instruction in schools and take a hard line against Ukrainian refugees, despite the fact that such matters are under federal authority.
The program even proposes the establishment of voluntary citizen patrols, a thinly veiled attempt to legitimize vigilante groups that could intimidate minorities and increase public fear. Legal scholar Thomas Feltes has warned that these patrols would function as vigilante forces and threaten public safety.
Culturally, the AfD seeks to rewrite history by revising school curricula to downplay Germany’s Nazi past, ban rainbow flags in schools—an attack on LGBTQ+ rights—reject the Bauhaus heritage as “globalist,” and divert funding away from projects that promote social diversity.
“Highly qualified professionals, in particular, have options,” said Reint Gropp, president of the Halle Institute for Economic Research, warning that the AfD’s climate of hostility could drive talent away from the region.
“It is the police’s duty to ward off dangers and ensure the protection of the public. Only the police are authorized to use force in doing so,” wrote Thomas Feltes, warning that citizen patrols could undermine safety.
The AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt chapter is classified by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as a confirmed far-right organization, raising grave concerns about the legality and morality of its proposals should the party seize state leadership.