Mass deportations and separate schools for refugees: The far-right AfD’s vision for Germany

By Sophie Tanno, Sebastian Shukla, Lauren Kent, CNN

(CNN) — The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to first place in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, winning 44% of the vote. But the anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party fell three seats short of an absolute majority, meaning it must either find a coalition partner or try to rule from a minority position.

Both options mean many of their manifesto ideas may never come to fruition, as mainstream parties in Germany have for years refused to work with the party, creating what has been dubbed a “firewall” against the far-right.

One route might be a deal with the left-wing populist BSW party, which on Monday criticized the firewall and which shares some of the AfD’s criticism of Germany’s policies on immigration and Ukraine. AfD leaders in Saxony-Anhalt are also courting the more right-wing factions of the mainstream conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) – though Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vehemently ruled out any cooperation.

Discussions over potential alliances in the coming days will be critical for the future direction of the state, as Germany’s federal system gives its 16 states significant control over areas including education, culture, policing and public broadcasting.

The AfD – a party German domestic intelligence has classified as “confirmed right wing extremist” – has made no secret of its desire to use power in Saxony-Anhalt as a blueprint for the rest of the nation. Its candidate for state premier, Ulrich Siegmund, told CNN on the campaign trail he hoped a victory for the party would spell the end of some of the “crazy” federal policies.

But first, the party would have to contend with the budget shortfall in Saxony-Anhalt, and the challenges of transitioning from opposition to governing.

As it sits on the cusp of power, here is a closer look at the party’s 258-page manifesto – a radical vision that showcases its aims for the state and beyond.

‘Remigration’

At the heart of the party’s manifesto is an overhaul of migration policy, including the immediate deportation of irregular migrants, the expansion of mass detention facilities and the return of non-ethnic-German citizens to their country of origin – a policy it refers to as “remigration.”

The AfD argues that the region has “exhausted” its ability to accept refugees, “not only in terms of security policy, but also identity.”

“People who are required to leave the country must be placed in deportation custody under our government,” Siegmund said in a recent interview.

A section of the AfD’s manifesto calls for a “remigration offensive” against Ukrainian people, claiming they should be returned home because “large parts of Ukraine are considered safe.”

However, Johannes Kieß, Deputy Director of the Else-Frenkel-Brunswik Institute (EFBI) for Democracy Research at Leipzig University, says migration policy is one of the most difficult to act on because states are limited by federal laws and regulations.

“I would expect a great deal of legal uncertainty and chaos,” said Kieß.

The AfD has also frequently called for Germany to end support for Ukraine and develop closer ties with Russia, putting it at odds with other major parties and the federal government, which has been the biggest backer of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Education: ‘More Bismarck, less Hitler’

Education is another key policy area for the AfD. Siegmund has pledged to overhaul Saxony-Anhalt’s school curriculum and “de-ideologize” school, including banning the Pride flag and promoting “traditional” German values.

AfD politicians in Saxony-Anhalt want school lessons to focus on the periods of German history before World War I and World War II, and less on Germany’s Nazi past, in line with the party’s stated desire for Germans to move beyond guilt and focus on national pride.

“More Bismarck, less Hitler,” is how Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, the party’s regional cultural spokesperson, summed it up in an interview with German media.

“We want a completely new, a completely different education policy,” he said. “Political influence on children, as we experience it – political indoctrination – is not a job for schools.”

The party’s manifesto also calls for segregated classes, with refugee children taught separately by other refugees, and teaching designed to convey the message that staying in Germany is temporary.

Disabled children would also be taught separately under the plans.

Culture: A crackdown on ‘anti-German art’

The AfD has promised what it calls a “new, patriotic cultural policy,” arguing that state institutions should play a more active role in promoting German national identity.

As part of its state manifesto, the AfD has pledged to defund what it refers to as “anti-German” art.

Asked to clarify what that means, Tillschneider said, “anti-German art is German art that doesn’t want to be German” and cited a performance he had seen where a classical German composer’s work was revised through a “feminist deconstructivism” lens.

The AfD has said artists and institutions that want state funding would be required to sign a pledge that they will not hold Germany and its culture in contempt.

The party’s manifesto states that the previous state government placed too much cultural significance on Bauhaus, Germany’s celebrated art school, as part of its “modern thinking” agenda. For the AfD, the movement lacks a sufficient German identity.

Critics have noted the clear echoes in how the Nazis assaulted modern art.

“The AfD is attacking the Bauhaus, using the very same words the Nazis used 100 years ago,” Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer told the Associated Press. “And that is why democrats, whether they lean conservative or left, are fighting back against it.”

Kieß told CNN that Saxony-Anhalt would quickly become “poorer, both materially and culturally” from AfD policies.

The end of the firewall?

One of the biggest questions facing Germany following the AfD’s electoral success is the efficacy of the so-called “firewall” against the far right.

It is now widely accepted that the policy could have contributed to the far-right’s rise by shielding it from the accountability that comes when parties hold office and face the reality of governing. The firewall also leads to rag-tag coalitions of mainstream parties, that have a difficult time finding policy agreements and getting things done in government.

Even so, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union and the other mainstream parties have pledged to keep the firewall in place.

“If this result is not a mandate to govern, then what is?” Siegmund said at a news conference on Monday. “That is why it is now our goal to organize exactly such a stable majority in the coming days and weeks. … There are different ways this could happen: Either through the support, and indeed the full support, of a parliamentary group or individual members of parliament.”

How things shake out in Saxony-Anhalt could have implications for two other regional elections in Germany this month. In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the AfD is leading with about 35%, according to the latest polling from Infratest dimap. Another strong showing for the AfD could also have wider-reaching implications for Germany’s next federal election, expected in 2029.

Even though AfD only emerged in 2013, polls say that if national elections were held today, it would win most votes.

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