Three days after the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) landslide in Saxony-Anhalt, the Bundestag’s general budget debate turned into a verbal battle between AfD co-chair Alice Weidel and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with the two battling it out over mass immigration, democracy, crime, Ukraine, and the future of Germany.
Heckling filled the chamber. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner repeatedly intervened. The exchange was the first direct parliamentary clash between the two leaders since Sunday’s vote, in which the AfD took 43.8 percent and the CDU collapsed to 17.2 percent.
Weidel opened the debate and treated the election results as a verdict on the ruling federal government coalition led by Merz.
“The voters in Saxony-Anhalt have made it abundantly clear to you, in the language of the democratic sovereign: the Black-Red coalition is over,” she said. Citizens wanted “a change of policy,” she added, “and they do not want more of the same.”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 9, 2026
JUST IN: After AfD's landslide victory, Weidel tells Merz that "the voters in Saxony-Anhalt have communicated to you in the language of the democratic sovereign with all clarity: Black-Red (CDU-SPD ruling coalition) is over."
She slammed the government's new budget during a… pic.twitter.com/i9JCrhBDin
Addressing Merz directly, she said he had failed to hear that message.
“That is not especially relevant, because your time has run out anyway. Citizens want a change of policy, and they will get it,” she said.
She turned next to the draft federal budget. Weidel called it a “declaration of surrender” and accused Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of “unserious budget management.”
““Despite record tax revenues, you are incapable of managing the public’s money wisely. Why? Because you are unwilling to free yourselves from the shackles of green ideology, left-wing mass migration, and socialist redistribution.”
She said the CDU-SPD government planned more than €1 trillion in new borrowing over its term, a figure she described as unprecedented in the Federal Republic. The result, she argued, would destroy future room for maneuver and leave “scorched earth.”
“You are driving Germany into national bankruptcy in record time,” she said.
Weidel also continued to slam Merz on mass migration, a sore spot for the ruling government.
“You declare the migration crisis to be over. Yet, every year, a six-figure number of migrants enters the country through the back door of asylum, plus another major city through family reunification—most of them from Muslim tribal cultures,” she stated, adding: “More than a million refugees live whose asylum application has been rejected more than once. What are these people actually still doing in this country? They should be deported!”
Weidel accused the coalition of declaring the crisis over while still admitting large numbers of people through asylum procedures and family reunification. She claimed more than a million people whose asylum claims had already been rejected remained in the country and should be deported. Ordinary workers, she said, were paying the price.
“Because [Germans] have to deal daily with the consequences of mass migration, with the hatred of foreign groups toward their own, with hatred of Christians, with hatred of Germans, with hatred of Germany, and you are even providing financial support to these people. This must finally come to an end!”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 9, 2026
"Because [Germans] have to deal daily with the consequences of mass migration, with the hatred of foreign groups toward their own, with hatred of Christians, with… pic.twitter.com/lBjLNPt9hM
Energy policy drew the sharpest interjections from the government benches. Weidel called the energy transition “the greatest millstone dragging our economy into the abyss” and “lost, burned money.” Germany, she said, was facing a possible winter gas shortage after the destruction of Nord Stream 2 while still sending billions to Ukraine.
She demanded renewed Russian gas deliveries, a return to nuclear power, and peace talks.
“While the United States is making another attempt to end the murderous Ukraine war, you are stepping up the war propaganda and the confrontation with Russia,” she told the chancellor. When SPD deputies laughed, she snapped: “Do you find that funny? Voters out there can see that the SPD finds deindustrialization funny. So stop laughing.”
Merz came out swinging against Weidel, conceding the Saxony-Anhalt result was “remarkable,” but said the AfD had missed its actual goal: an absolute majority of seats.
“Fifty-six percent of voters in Saxony-Anhalt did not vote for you,” he said. “And you will not achieve that anywhere in Germany with this policy.” He accused Weidel of having pushed lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund, within hours of the polls closing, to seek a governing majority after having promised before the election to govern only with an absolute majority.
“You are, and you will remain, Ms. Weidel, a destructive force,” he accused.
The sharpest attack from Merz concerned remigration. He said the concept is “nothing other than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color.”
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 9, 2026
The anti-immigration AfD party is pursuing a plan of "ethnic cleansing based on skin color and origin," said Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a Bundestag debate.
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If that program were carried out, he claimed, skilled trades, nursing homes, hospitals, and restaurants would cease to function, because one in six workers in the crafts already holds a foreign passport and millions of people with a migration background keep essential services running. The coalition, he said, agreed on deporting people without a right to stay, but distinguished between those who work and contribute and those who must leave. AfD deputies erupted. Several shouted that the claim was false.
On Ukraine, Merz accused the AfD of reversing perpetrator and victim. Neither NATO, the European Union nor Germany had threatened Russia, he said.
“The only thing that truly threatens Russia and Putin is the radiance of democracy.”
The AfD, he added, still stood with Moscow.
“Right there runs the deep rift between you and us, in foreign policy, in European policy, in social policy and in peace policy,” he said.
He also charged that Weidel had said nothing about a failed drone incident at Leipzig Airport, a hacking attack on Berlin infrastructure, or this year’s fires and weather extremes.
“Not a word from you, Ms. Weidel, about what has been going on in this country this year, he accused her.
At one point in Merz’s speech, Klöckner told the AfD that heckling is part of parliamentary life, “but it is not part of constantly interrupting a speaker. You also have to accept that there are other opinions.”
When the noise continued, she warned one deputy: “We are not on the football pitch here right now. Save this for the weekend.” Later she threatened MPs with expulsion.
Merz thanked her and said the interruptions themselves showed the AfD’s “contempt for the German Bundestag,” adding that “listening is not your strong suit.”
With the battle brewing over who controls Saxony-Anhalt still to be decided, and with Merz’s CDU crashing below 20 percent in the latest poll, political tensions are set to rise in the coming month
The post Germany: After AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Merz and Weidel trade blows during intense debate in Bundestag appeared first on Remix News.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a convincing victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on September 6, 2026. The election was marked by a high turnout of nearly 78% and took place amid a climate of widespread anger against federal policies implemented by the Merz administration – particularly attacks on social services and welfare, and ongoing militarization.
The AfD won approximately 44% of the vote, more than double its result in the 2021 election. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) saw its support halve to barely over 17%, followed by the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the progressive party Die Linke – all recording less than 10% of the vote. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) crossed the 5% electoral threshold.
Despite the result, it remains unclear whether the far right will be able to form a government, as mainstream parties have historically maintained a “firewall” against cooperation with the AfD. For his part, AfD state leader Ulrich Siegmund indicated the party’s preference is forming a non-coalition administration, even if it means going to the polls again. He assured that, in that case, the AfD would win over 50% of the vote.
While mainstream parties across Germany expressed shock over the election result, critics on the left argue this is the result of their own unwillingness to break with neoliberal policies and attacks on labor rights. Ever since the far right began to record stronger electoral results, the mainstream parties’ focus has remained almost exclusively on the AfD’s anti-immigrant discourse, even embracing growing chunks of this narrative in an attempt to preserve votes.
These same parties fail to recognize the importance of the cost of living crisis and massive job losses for voters. The fear of not being able to make ends meet was one of the top concerns in Saxony-Anhalt. This indicated that many votes for the AfD were cast in the attempt to find an alternative to the mainstream. Merz’s administration, however, is apparently still oblivious to these concerns.
The AfD coming into power would also not translate into a change of economic policy, considering their program remains aligned with neoliberal principles. While this leaves room for the left to act and shape a socially just strategy, notable social mobilizations are yet to be fully recognized as pointers for progressive parties.
AfD’s success has been noted with concern by progressive politicians across the region. They pointed to the stubborn insistence of mainstream parties on austerity policies even as it becomes apparent that they are pushing people into the arms of the extreme right.
“The far right is back in Germany,” French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon reacted. “This is a catastrophic demonstration of the blindness of Europe’s centrist politicians. The disaster is of their making.”
“Things didn’t turn out well under the far right last time, and they won’t this time either,” echoed Slovenian progressive party Levica. “The only answer to the consequences of capitalism is socialism.”
Dire economic news continues to roll in as Germany faces deepening deindustrialization and an economic downturn under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Reports today say Volkswagen’s management board is proposing to wind down production at four major German plants and shift much of that work abroad.
Just days before, Merz warned that investors would shun an AfD-governed federal state in the future.
“I cannot imagine international investors showing up for a groundbreaking ceremony with an AfD state premier to establish new plants or set up new businesses in Saxony-Anhalt,” said Merz during an ARD summer interview on Aug. 30.
He added that if a right-wing populist party won an absolute majority in the coming election, international investors would think twice about whether to invest in Saxony-Anhalt.
However, VW’s management board has now recommended closing four German production sites. The AfD has seized on the reports.
“In four VW plants, the group board is turning off the lights. The energy transition and electric planned economy are pulling the plug on the German automotive industry. With an AfD government, the economic turnaround will return to reason,” wrote AfD co-chair Alice Weidel.
Gleich in vier VW-Werken lässt der Konzernvorstand die Lichter ausgehen. Energiewende und Elektro-Planwirtschaft ziehen der deutschen Autoindustrie den Stecker. Mit einer AfD-Regierung kommt die Wirtschaftswende zurück zur Vernunft.https://t.co/6BEVQlIf3y
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) September 2, 2026
The plan was unanimously adopted by the VW management board and will be presented to the Supervisory Board on Sept. 3. While not an immediate shutdown, it would end production in the early 2030s in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover, and Neckarsulm, with production transferred to Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Germany’s anemic growth is almost entirely debt-fueled and focused on public sector and defense. Its once world-class industrial base is meanwhile rapidly eroding, with Normura reporting that investors are increasingly receptive to right-wing victories, as ZeroHedge reported.
The AfD is using Merz’s economic record to argue that investors would welcome an AfD victory in the state.
AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund told Welt TV that “exactly the opposite” would happen and that an AfD government would instead encourage firms to launch projects in Saxony-Anhalt.
Conservative-governed states abroad would see “a competitive advantage if we finally have long-term planning security again, if we have no climate targets, no quota targets,” argued Siegmund.
“[Merz’s] current economic policy speaks for itself here. We are currently experiencing deindustrialization in this country. Businesses are closing, businesses are leaving this country. That means reality speaks a clear language here,” he said.
Weidel also attacked Merz after his warning of “significant damage.”
“No German Chancellor has advanced the economic misery and deindustrialization of our country as much as Friedrich Merz,” she said. “His arrogant threats towards the responsible voters in Saxony-Anhalt show the political elite in Berlin is trembling.”
Zerohedge further discussed Normura’s take on the issue, which may be generally supportive of the AfD’s stance.
Andrzej Szczepaniak, senior European economist and executive director at Nomura, wrote “the seeds of political change” adding that “politics in Europe is lurching towards more populism.”
Szczepaniak said: “Five years ago, financial markets would not have seemed so at ease with such a prospect. But then again, these populist right-wing political parties were previously not as fiscally prudent as they are perceived to be today. Indeed, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is the standard-bearer for financial markets of how a populist right-wing political party can govern: fiscally prudent enough to show investors that the party can govern responsibly while focusing heavily on social issues, including immigration and culture wars, to keep grassroots supporters happy.”
“Financial markets are much more concerned about populist left-wing parties being elected due to their desire to increase spending, often paid for through higher borrowing or higher taxes, which are likely to shut the engine off of already stuttering economies.”
While VW plans for plant closures have not been finalized, they are a sign of general industrial trends across Germany.
VW CEO Oliver Blume, at works council meetings in Emden, said that labor costs at Emden are more than twice those at comparable European plants. He noted that factory costs at other group plants are “clearly cheaper.”
“That is not an accusation, it is the reality we have to be measured against,” he said.
He added that cost cutting “is not enough to stay competitive long-term in a world of such massive change.”
On Aug. 31, CFO Arno Antlitz in Hanover said, according to Reuters, that: “We build good cars but earn too little because our costs are too high.”
“Because of the large cost differences versus other European plants, we currently have no economically viable follow-on production for four German sites once current products run out in the early 2030s,” he warned.
Companies across Germany have either cut production or closed plants entirely, with VW now one of the most high-profile corporate giants eyeing taking the same action.
The post Germany: Chancellor Merz claims AfD win will threaten economy, AfD quickly points out VW plans to close 4 plants appeared first on Remix News.
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