Far Right Politics in Germany's Elections

Despite the captivating grin, some believe this might be

Germany's most dangerous man. Ulrich Siegmund,

candidate for the right wing alternative for Germany or AfD,

could soon become the first far right state governor in

Germany since World War II.

"The other parties have lost voters' trust," Siegmund tells me at

a campaign rally. For decades, they did exactly the opposite of what

they promised.

I caught up with Ulrich Siegmund on the sidelines of an AfD event in Dessau

in the East German state Saxony-Anhalt ahead of this weekend's

election that Berlin's political establishment is watching with

trepidation.

The AfD is miles ahead of all other parties in pre-election

polls. The top issue by far, folks here tell me,

immigration.

I ask Verena whether there's a bandwidth of issues or if immigration tops

everything. "I think right now, with the children, for me and the

children, yes, it's immigration," she says.

The AfD openly calls for a mass deportation of

undocumented foreigners and foreigners who committed crimes,

a policy AfD Chairwoman Alice Weidel controversially

calls re-migration, cheered on at a

2025 campaign event by the self-declared AfD

supporter Elon Musk.

Let's go!

At his rally, Siegmund tries to brush off those

concerns.

"There are many countries where people are

seeking positive change with conservative parties that put national

interests first and don't believe they have to save the world," he says.

Here in the former communist east, Siegmund portrays himself as the

common man's man, often riding an old East German

scooter or displaying communist era Trabant cars at

events.

But while his appeal is local, he makes no secret that the

AfD's foreign policy agenda aims to change both Germany

and Europe, weakening the EU in its current form,

seeking

a return to close ties with Russia while stopping all support

for Ukraine. "We hope that starting from

Saxony-Anhalt we can usher in the beginning of the end of this

crazy policy for all of Germany."

Only about 2.1 million people live in all of Saxony-Anhalt, one of

the least populous states in Germany, but one that's drawing

global attention ahead of Sunday's vote.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Dessau, Germany.