The Hungarian-language news portal Parameter.sk in Slovakia interviewed Péter Techet about the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and their consequences for the Federal Republic of Germany.
The article can be read here: Merznek egyáltalán nem sikerült „megfelezni” az AfD-t, de mit hozhat ez Németországra és Európára né…
The AfD’s victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election marks another significant shift in Germany’s political landscape. With 43.8% of the vote, the party became by far the strongest political force in the state, falling only three seats short of an absolute majority. For IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer, however, the most important result is not the AfD’s score, but the CDU’s defeat.
“The single most important number for me is not the high result of the AfD. It is the low result for the CDU,” Schäffer said in an interview with TVP World.
The CDU received only 17.2% of the vote, a dramatic decline from its previous result. The outcome challenges the party’s traditional position as Germany’s dominant centre-right force. Schäffer argues that the result also demonstrates the limits of attempts to compete with the AfD by adopting elements of its rhetoric.
“If you want the original, you do not go to the copy,” Schäffer noted, pointing to the growing difficulty for the CDU of distinguishing itself from the AfD while maintaining its own political profile.
The election also highlights the changing nature of the AfD itself. According to Schäffer, the party can no longer be understood primarily through the traditional image of a marginal far-right street movement.
“It is no longer skinheads in boots marching and shouting things that are forbidden by the Constitution in Germany,” Schäffer said. “We have friendly faces in the first row and then criminals and people that are linked to, for instance, the Identitarian movement in the second row.”
This professionalisation and mainstreaming of the AfD increases its potential appeal beyond its traditional far-right electorate. At the same time, the party’s ideological orientation remains significant. The AfD’s political environment includes established links to the broader right-wing extremist milieu, while its positions on migration, European integration, Russia and support for Ukraine distinguish it fundamentally from Germany’s democratic centre.
The result therefore raises a question that extends beyond Saxony-Anhalt: can the political model developed by the AfD in eastern Germany be transferred to the western German states?
Schäffer argues that there is no reason to assume that the party’s electoral success will remain geographically confined. The AfD is already led increasingly by politicians with western German backgrounds, while its professionalised public presentation makes it more accessible to voters outside the traditional far-right milieu.
At the same time, the election demonstrates that the AfD does not yet have a governing majority. With 39 of 83 seats, it remains dependent on support from other parties or individual members of the Landtag. Possible governing arrangements remain uncertain, including the possibility of minority government or a new election.
For Schäffer, however, the central challenge for Germany’s democratic parties goes beyond the immediate question of government formation.
“The other parties have to find answers to the topics that have been making the AfD strong,” he said.
Migration, economic insecurity and dissatisfaction with established political parties have created an electoral environment in which the AfD can continue to expand its support. Simply describing each successive result as a “wake up call” will not be sufficient.
The implications also extend beyond Germany. The AfD’s positions on Russia, Ukraine and European integration mean that its continued electoral rise is closely watched by Germany’s European partners.
The Saxony-Anhalt election is therefore not simply another state election. It is an indication of the continuing transformation of Germany’s party system and a warning that the political centre cannot rely on established electoral loyalties to contain the rise of the far right.
Watch the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz-uxXDNmGE
An incident involving an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport has triggered a fresh escalation in tensions between Berlin and Moscow. German authorities have accused Russian state structures of involvement in the sabotage, claiming that the drone was targeting a Ukrainian An-124 military transport aircraft. Berlin subsequently moved to close Russia’s Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in the capital. Moscow retaliated by announcing the closure of Goethe-Institut branches in Russia.
In an interview with Caliber.az, IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer assessed the incident as part of a broader Russian hybrid campaign against European countries supporting Ukraine. According to Schäffer, German investigators have forensic evidence that could help identify those responsible, and Berlin therefore views the incident as a Russia-linked act of sabotage.
““Moscow’s objective is to increase the political and security costs of supporting Ukraine. Germany, as a key military, industrial and logistical hub for assistance to Kyiv, is one of the main targets. Attacks on critical infrastructure, military facilities and transport networks are intended to sow fear and division in Europe without escalating to a direct confrontation with NATO,” Schäffer said.
He strongly condemned statements by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev threatening strikes against German facilities, describing them as an unacceptable threat against a NATO member and part of an attempt to intimidate European governments and societies supporting Ukraine.
Schäffer also pointed to persisting divisions over Russia within Germany. “Among the far-right AfD in particular, there is a widespread view that sanctions are hurting Germany more than Russia and that Berlin should restore dialogue and economic ties with Moscow while reducing its support for Ukraine. This debate is becoming particularly relevant ahead of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD is leading in opinion polls,” he said.
“Citizens’ economic concerns are real. However, hoping to achieve stability through concessions to Moscow is an illusion. In my view, abandoning pressure will not lead to peace; it will only reward aggression and create conditions for its further escalation,” Schäffer concluded.
Read the full article here: https://caliber.az/en/post/moscow-berlin-a-new-war-of-nerves?
Péter Techet joined the midday programme of Hungary’s renewed public broadcaster, Kossuth Rádió, live from Vienna to discuss the legal and political response in Germany to the recent drone attacks.
Listen to the full programme here: https://mediaklikk.hu/audio/kossuth-radio/2026/09/03/12-30/kulcskerdesek/
Ahead of the 6 September state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is polling strongly and seeking to turn regional momentum into a claim for national power. Yet a first-place finish would not automatically translate into government. Coalition arithmetic and the continued refusal of other parties to cooperate with the AfD remain decisive.
In a conversation with TVP World, IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer argued that mainstream parties should resist the temptation to respond by adopting the AfD’s language or parts of its policy agenda.
“You won’t win back voters from the AfD by copying their far-right slogans.”
The experience of Austria is instructive. Conservative parties that try to neutralise the far right by moving closer to its positions risk legitimising its narrative rather than reducing its appeal. This is particularly relevant to Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s current approach, which increasingly echoes AfD demands on migration and border policy.
The discussion also addressed the wider implications of the AfD’s agenda. Proposals to take Germany out of the euro and Schengen would go far beyond a domestic political shift. They would affect European economic integration, free movement, cross-border communities and Germany’s relations with its neighbours, including Poland.
The TVP World interview with Sebastian Schäffer was recorded from Thessaloniki.
Russian hybrid threats are increasingly testing Germany’s security architecture. In a TVP World interview, IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer discussed the need to strengthen Germany’s capacity to counter espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and foreign interference while preserving the constitutional safeguards that distinguish a democracy from the actors seeking to undermine it.
The challenge is not limited to the digital sphere. Disinformation operations, interference in democratic processes, suspected sabotage activities and threats to critical infrastructure are part of a wider pattern aimed at creating insecurity, eroding trust in public institutions and portraying democratic states as incapable of protecting their citizens.
Germany’s planned reforms of its security and intelligence structures, as well as investments in drone-related capabilities, therefore respond to a changing threat environment. Yet expanding operational powers also raises fundamental questions. Germany’s post-war legal and institutional framework deliberately placed strict limits on domestic security powers. Any adaptation must remain subject to effective parliamentary, judicial and public oversight.
A resilient response requires more than new technical tools or stronger intelligence capabilities. It also depends on societal resilience: media literacy, civic education, trust in democratic institutions and a clear understanding that freedom of expression must not become a shield for coordinated foreign operations intended to dismantle the democratic order.
Democracies must be able to defend themselves. The central task is to do so without sacrificing the rule-of-law principles and fundamental rights they are defending.
Watch the full interview on TVP World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noaNRpow6xg
In einem Bericht der ARD-Tagesschau wurde Péter Techet ebenfalls zu den ersten 100 Tagen der neuen ungarischen Regierung und zu Péter Magyars bisheriger Politik interviewt.
Den Beitrag können Sie hier ansehen: 100 Tagen Magyar – Wo Ungarn mit seinem neuen Regierungschef steht
Im ARD-Mittagsmagazin sprach Péter Techet live darüber, was die neue ungarische Regierung in den ersten 100 Tagen erreicht hat.
Das Video kann hier nachgeschaut werden (im Ausland nicht verfügbar): ARD Mittagsmagazin – alle verfügbaren Videos – jetzt streamen!
IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer spoke to TVP World about the current political situation in Germany and the AfD’s strong polling in Saxony-Anhalt.
The AfD’s rise represents a serious danger to democracy. Its political agenda and rhetoric challenge democratic institutions, weaken social cohesion and contribute to the normalisation of positions that stand at odds with constitutional principles.
At the same time, democratic parties need to respond more effectively to the issues on which the AfD is gaining support. Questions of migration, security, economic uncertainty and political representation cannot be left to a party that mobilises dissatisfaction without offering workable solutions.
The response must not be to adopt the AfD’s language or politics. Democratic parties need to show that they can address legitimate concerns through credible policies, effective governance and a clear commitment to democratic values.
The whole interview can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrDD6iCUX28
In an interview with the Hungarian-language program of the Slovak Radio STVR, Péter Techet analyzed the increased security threat in Germany and the planned changes to the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND).
The interview can be listened to here: Németország emeli a fenyegetettségi szintet az orosz szabotázs és kiberakciók árnyékában – Pátria Rá…
