Jo Harper
07 September 2026•Update: 07 September 2026
Poland on Monday voiced concern over Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) landslide victory in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, warning that the party’s rise could threaten Polish interests and the European political order.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ignacy Niemczycki said Monday that the AfD’s success in Sunday’s regional election should be viewed with concern in Warsaw.
“This is a party that challenges the European order. It is a pro-Russian party. I think this is something that should cause us concern,” Niemczycki told RMF24 radio.
Asked whether AfD’s victory posed a threat to Polish interests, he replied: “In the long term, absolutely.”
The far-right AfD won around 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, more than doubling its support from the previous state election in 2021 and finishing far ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which secured around 17%.
The result is being watched particularly closely in neighboring Poland because of the AfD’s positions on Russia, European integration, migration and Germany’s relations with Warsaw.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had already warned ahead of the vote that proposals by AfD leaders to withdraw Germany from Europe’s Schengen free-movement area could have serious consequences for Poland.
The party has also advocated ending sanctions against Russia and rebuilding economic relations with Moscow, positions sharply at odds with Warsaw’s policy of isolating Russia and maintaining strong military and political support for Ukraine.
