Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the election success achieved by the far-right AfD in the state of Saxony-Anhalt as "a real turning point." Stating that the result deeply shook her, Merkel used the expression, "As a CDU member, my heart bleeds."

Merkel called on democratic parties to establish direct contact with voters and be more active on social media. She made this assessment at an event she attended concerning artificial intelligence.

In the elections held in the state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, the AfD became the leading party with 43.8 percent of the vote. However, it could not secure a majority to form a government alone. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), on the other hand, lost 19.9 points compared to 2021, ranking second with 17.2 percent of the vote. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) increased its vote by 0.9 points, coming in third with 9.3 percent. The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) also gained the right to enter parliament with 5.3 percent of the vote.

Merkel drew attention to the AfD's strong presence, especially on platforms like TikTok. She stressed that democratic parties cannot ignore this development by saying, "We are not on TikTok." Merkel said, "We must confront this and reach people where they are."

Stating that it is no longer possible to reach all voters through traditional public broadcasting, Merkel pointed out that public television is sought to be abolished by the AfD.

Stating that she does not have a definitive recipe against the rise of the AfD, Merkel noted that it is no longer sufficient for political parties to address all voters with the same slogan. She said that in the past, a slogan prepared by the CDU's headquarters could be conveyed to the entire country in the same way, but today, people create their own information worlds. The former Chancellor added that, for this reason, political candidates must appear more prepared before voters.

According to reports in the German media, all parties except BSW refuse to form a government with the far-right AfD. In this scenario, there are comments suggesting that a government could be formed in the state where BSW supports the AfD from the outside.