German bishop voices ‘great concern’ after historic AfD victory in state election
German Bishop Gerhard Feige expressed great concern after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) nearly won a majority in the Saxony‑Anhalt state election, securing 43.8% of the vote and 39 of 83 seats. AfD's result left the state facing a coalition deadlock, with the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Greens, The Left and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance each winning only a handful of seats. Feige called on the election winners to fully respect the constitution and Basic Law, and to uphold the dignity of all people, noting the election had profoundly changed the political landscape. Cardinal Gerhard Müller criticized the bishops for not keeping their spiritual authority away from politics, urging them to remain pastoral rather than political actors.
13 days ago
The AfD won a historic plurality in Saxony-Anhalt’s September 6 state election, taking 43.8% of the vote and 39 of 83 seats. The result prompted German church leaders to stress constitutional protections and human dignity, while Cardinal Gerhard Müller warned bishops against using their spiritual authority to influence party politics. 1 3
The AfD finished three seats short of an absolute majority. The CDU, led by incumbent Minister-President Sven Schulze, won 15 seats, while the SPD, Greens, and Left each received eight; the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance won five. 1 2
The result more than doubled the AfD’s support compared with 2021, while the CDU’s support was cut roughly in half. Voter turnout reached about 80%, nearly 20 percentage points higher than in the previous state election. 3
The AfD cannot govern alone, but the other parties are considered unlikely to form a coalition with it. A majority opposing the AfD would require the CDU, SPD, Greens, Left, and BSW to cooperate, a prospect also described as difficult. 1 2
ZENIT described the result as the first time since 1945 that a far-right party had a realistic chance of governing a German state. It compared the situation with Thuringia, where the AfD won in 2024 but was kept out of government by a political “cordon sanitaire.” 3
Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg issued a joint statement with Protestant leaders expressing “great concern” about the result. The statement called on those assuming governmental responsibility to respect the state constitution and Germany’s Basic Law and to uphold the dignity of every person. 1 2
Feige said that anyone seeking governmental responsibility also accepted responsibility for all people in the state. The church leaders said the election had profoundly altered Saxony-Anhalt’s political landscape. 1
Bishop Heiner Wilmer, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, joined other Christian leaders in saying that their “worst fears” had come true, while also insisting that the result had to be accepted. The leaders said they would monitor and critically assess the actions of the future state government. 1 2
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a former prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, criticized the bishops’ public statements. Writing for kath.net, he argued that bishops should not place their “spiritual authority onto the scales” either for or against a political party. 1 2
Müller said bishops should act as spiritual pastors and warned against what he called the misuse of spiritual authority for political purposes. His remarks placed him in tension with church leaders who emphasized human dignity, constitutional principles, and scrutiny of the future government. 1 2
ZENIT situated the election within the continuing political and religious divide between eastern and western Germany. It reported that nearly 90% of people in the former East Germany identify as nonreligious, compared with approximately 10% Protestants and 3% Catholics. 3
The article linked the AfD’s rise to the long-term decline of religious affiliation in eastern Germany. It cited political scientist Andreas Püttmann’s view that de-Christianization created a social and ideological vacuum that nationalist movements have been able to exploit. 3
The AfD’s rise was also presented as a challenge to traditional Christian institutions. Democratic parties have at times looked to Protestant pastors and other church figures as a political counterweight to the party, while the Frankfurter Allgemeine reportedly referred to this dynamic as “Alternative for Christ.” 3
ZENIT highlighted Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old AfD leader in Saxony-Anhalt, as an example of the party’s conflict with established churches. Siegmund was baptized and raised Catholic but formally left the Church in 2017, while saying that he retained Catholic values personally. 3
The article said the AfD’s platform includes abolishing Germany’s church tax, ending state subsidies to Catholic and Protestant churches, and making churches financially responsible for the reception of migrants. The party also criticizes the churches’ positions on climate change, gender, “woke” culture, and Islam. 3
According to the same account, Germany’s church tax generates more than €12 billion annually, with the country’s Catholic dioceses receiving about €7 billion from it in 2025. More than 300,000 people reportedly left the Catholic Church that year, while the German Church has lost more than a quarter of its members over two decades. 3
The churches have responded by defending human dignity, charity, solidarity, social peace, and coexistence. The AfD, in turn, accuses them of abandoning vulnerable people and of becoming aligned with prevailing progressive political positions. 3
The election has placed Saxony-Anhalt at the center of questions about the AfD’s future role in German state governments. Further state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were identified as upcoming tests of whether the AfD’s strength in eastern Germany would become a broader pattern. 3
Does the Church’s teaching on political engagement safeguard democracy?
Yes—but not by treating democracy as merely majority rule. Catholic teaching safeguards democracy by defending the moral and institutional conditions that make democratic participation genuinely human.
The Church supports citizens’ participation, voting, public accountability, and the peaceful replacement of governments. It rejects narrow ruling groups that seize power for private or ideological interests and insists that democracy operate under the rule of law.
Its central safeguard is the dignity of every human person. Rights are not gifts granted by the state; they are rooted in the person’s inherent dignity. Respect for these rights enables citizens to participate meaningfully in public life.
Catholic teaching also requires active and responsible civic engagement. Catholics may vote, join political parties, advocate policies, and cooperate with others for the common good. The Church does not demand one political party or one strategy: several political options may be legitimate when they respect fundamental moral principles.
At the same time, the Church places limits on democracy. A majority cannot make intrinsically immoral actions morally good. Democracy is not a complete moral system; it requires shared values, especially respect for life, freedom, justice, equality, peace, solidarity, and the vulnerable.
This does not amount to theocracy or clerical control. The Magisterium seeks to form consciences, not exercise political power or eliminate legitimate freedom of opinion on contingent matters. Catholics should bring their convictions into public debate while respecting the autonomy of political society and cooperating with citizens of different beliefs.
Thus, the Church safeguards democracy in two complementary ways: by defending participation and pluralism, and by insisting that political power remains subject to truth, human dignity, moral law, and the common good. Without the first, democracy becomes authoritarian; without the second, it can become the “tyranny of the majority” or a system where power legitimizes injustice.