A German bishop expressed "great concern" after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 43.8% of the vote in a state election on Sunday, falling just short of an absolute majority and leaving the state of Saxony-Anhalt facing a protracted coalition deadlock.
The AfD, which is critical of mass migration, is described by opponents as being "far right," populist, and/or extremist. The state's domestic intelligence office has classified the party's Saxony-Anhalt branch as "confirmed right-wing extremist" — a designation the AfD is challenging in court; the federal equivalent was suspended by a court in February pending a final ruling.
According to preliminary official results, the AfD will hold 39 of the state Parliament's 83 seats, just three short of an absolute majority. The Christian Democrats (CDU), led by incumbent Minister-President Sven Schulze, finished a distant second with 15 seats. The Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and The Left each won eight seats, while the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) won five, according to CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News.
Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, in a joint statement with Protestant leaders, called on the election winners to "fully respect our state's constitution as well as the Basic Law and to uphold the dignity of all people."
The Basic Law is Germany's constitution.
"Anyone who wishes to assume governmental responsibility also assumes responsibility for all people in our state," Feige said on Monday.
The statement said the churches noted the results "with great concern" and warned that the election had "profoundly changed the political landscape" in the state.
Separately, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, joined Christian leaders in a statement: "Our worst fears have come true, but we must accept the result."
The leaders said they would "closely monitor and critically assess the political actions of the future state government."
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, criticized the bishops' statements, writing for website kath.net that they "must in no case throw their spiritual authority onto the scales" for or against a political party.
The prelate warned German bishops to be spiritual pastors rather than committing "abuse of spiritual authority for political purposes."
Observers note that forming a state government in Saxony-Anhalt will prove complicated. The AfD fell short of forming a government alone, and the other parties are unlikely to form a coalition with it. A majority against the AfD would require all other parties to unite, which also seems unlikely.
