The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has set a target of 40% or more of the vote for elections to the regional state parliament in Saxony on September 1.
“It is possible that we will govern alone in Saxony,” said AfD General Secretary Jan Zwerg at the launch of the election campaign in the Saxon capital, Dresden. From now on, his group will hunt, he said.
In the European elections, the AfD became the strongest party in Saxony with 31.8%.
Opinion polls for the state elections currently show a tight race with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – with a slight advantage for the AfD.
Leading candidate Jörg Urban spoke of a tailwind for the state elections. “Here in the east, here in Saxony, we can make a big breakthrough,” he told his supporters. His party no longer wants to be in opposition, but wants to govern, he said.
“We don’t want a piece of the pie, we want the bakery,” Urban said.
The Saxon state association AfD is categorized by Saxony’s national intelligence agency as a confirmed far-right movement. The party is fighting this legally.
