Lawmakers in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt have elected a new governor, as mainstream parties seek to head off a far-right victory in a regional election due in seven months.
Sven Schulze, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was chosen by the state legislature to replace Reiner Haseloff, who had led the state of about 2.2 million people since 2011. Schulze, 46, was designated last year as the CDU's candidate for governor and had been the state's economy minister until his election.
Haseloff, 71, had initially appeared willing to serve out his full term. However, with support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) running high in the region, he announced this month that he would step down early. The handover is not unusual in German politics, where governors sometimes yield mid-term to give their successors time to become better known to voters.
The AfD, which became the second-largest party in the federal parliament last year, is strongest in the formerly communist and less prosperous east. Opposition to migration is a central issue for the party, with which mainstream parties refuse to cooperate, but it has also capitalised on discontent over issues such as the sluggish economy.
Haseloff had successfully fended off an AfD challenge in the last state election in 2021, benefiting from his popularity as an incumbent. Schulze would not have had that advantage had Haseloff remained in office. The AfD has yet to take power at state level, though it emerged as the largest party in Thuringia's 2024 state election.
