Far-right victory in eastern Germany puts migrants' futures in doubt

BERLIN,— The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a historic victory in Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt, a result that left Mamad Mohamad, a Green Party lawmaker, feeling torn.

Mohamad, 46, came to Germany from Syria in 1996 as a 16-year-old Yazidi Kurd. He is set to become one of the first lawmakers with an immigrant background to sit in the state parliament, alongside Mustafa Groener of the Left party.

Mohamad called the outcome a “poisoned victory.”

“My heart was split,” he said, describing the moment early projections showed the AfD doing better than expected while Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party fell to its lowest level ever.

The AfD has pushed for years for stricter immigration and asylum rules. The party says Germany has lost control of its borders and that migration is straining public services, security and social unity.

Its election platform calls for a state-level push to deport asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.

The party also wants businesses to use artificial intelligence and automation instead of relying on skilled workers from what it calls “culturally alien” backgrounds.

The AfD denies that its language creates a hostile environment for migrants. It says it only opposes illegal and uncontrolled migration.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said Monday that anyone who works, pays taxes, follows the law and adds value to society is welcome.

The mood in Mohamad’s home was quiet on Monday. He said his daughter did not want to go to school, one of several schools the AfD has criticized for running programs on threats to democracy.

Undra Dressler, managing director of the State Network of Migrant Organizations in Saxony-Anhalt, said the election result caused unease but not shock among immigrant communities, which have long dealt with discrimination and barriers to jobs, education, health care and public services.

“All of this is our reality,” she told Reuters.

Still, she said Sunday’s vote marks a turning point. She said many people in migrant communities have already packed their bags with firm plans to leave, and some have already gone.

Pascal Begrich, managing director of the democracy advocacy group Miteinander, said he does not expect a mass departure, citing economic factors. But he said both migrants and employers are reconsidering their future in the state.

“There are companies asking themselves whether they really want to locate here and whether they can ensure their workers will be safe,” Begrich told Reuters.

Mohamad said the political shift could make it harder to draw new residents to a state already losing population. “Skilled workers and families will look elsewhere,” he said.

Dressler and Begrich both said any future state government will still have to follow Germany’s constitution and its protections for minorities.

“Every government is bound by this,” Dressler said. “And the 15 other federal states have a duty to monitor this and, if necessary, to intervene.”

(With files from Reuters)