AfD leaders lay claim to government after elections

After the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony, AfD leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are claiming to be part of the government. "Of course we have a claim to government," said Weidel on ZDF's "Morgenmagazin". Voters in both federal states had clearly opted for a center-right coalition and the participation of the AfD.

In Thuringia, the AfD, which has been classified by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist, achieved 32.8 percent according to the preliminary results. In Saxony, where the AfD is also classified as definitely right-wing extremist, the party came in second with 30.6%, just behind the CDU. However, participation in government remains unlikely, as none of the other parties in either federal state want to form a coalition with the AfD.

She does not believe that the firewall can be maintained, said AfD leader Weidel. "We want to see how the CDU will behave in the long term." AfD leader Chrupalla asked Minister President Michael Kretschmer's CDU in Saxony for cooperation. "Who does he want to implement his election promises with? That would work better with us than, I think, with the SPD or the Greens, for example," said Chrupalla on Deutschlandfunk radio.