German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the far-right AfD's historic state election victory showed that deep reforms are needed, but he stressed that basic democratic values remain valid.
"I want to assure everyone in our country of this: Our institutions are resilient and stable. Our Basic Law protects and guarantees this order," Merz said after what he described as the worst defeat for his party, the CDU, in decades in the election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
"This message is also directed at our friends in Europe and across the globe," he added.
Merz also stuck by his reform decisions made last year despite the election defeat. "That is what we need to deliver on now; it is what I want to deliver on, and that is the stance I am taking into talks with our coalition partner," said Merz.
AfD's state election win will not change Ukraine support, Merz says
Merz also said that the fact that AfD is a pro-Russia party would not change the federal government's support for Ukraine and warned that there is a very concrete threat facing Germany's internal security.
"And I want to make this very clear: 2,500 kilometers east of here, people are especially delighted with this election result in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt," said Merz, in reference to Russia.
"I will not deviate by even a millimeter from my fundamental conviction that we must defend our freedom, especially now, against Russia," he said.
"If we stop supporting Ukraine, the situation will not improve by tomorrow; it will only get worse. The Russian leadership aims to destabilize the system of values underpinning what we once called 'the West', a system of values that is non-negotiable."
The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD won nearly 44% of the vote, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz's ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among Germany's neighbors, France and Poland, and elsewhere.
However, the party - which wants to deport immigrants, halt support for Ukraine, and restore ties with Moscow - fell short of an absolute majority in the state legislature, winning 39 of the 83 seats, and hopes to poach individual conservative lawmakers.
Eying possible alliance with BSW
The only German party that has signaled readiness to work with the AfD is the populist left-wing BSW.
The BSW shares the AfD's hostility towards mass immigration, which it says undermines local workers' rights, and also advocates for ending Germany's support for Ukraine and restoring ties with Moscow.
Both parties characterize sanctions on Russia as needlessly self-sabotaging, denying German businesses access to Russia's vast cheap energy resources on which Germany's export-driven economy was able to thrive for decades.
"Peace in Europe" was the second biggest factor driving which way people voted in Saxony-Anhalt, according to numbers from the ARD broadcaster. But Merz told reporters that the AfD's success was no reason to change course.
During the campaign, the AfD tapped into growing disillusionment with established parties, which it characterizes as tired and out of touch, offering instead a range of hardline policies, a promise of cleaner and safer streets and a revival of national pride.
For some, there is also a nostalgia for life in the former communist-run East Germany.
'Very worrying signal'
According to a breakdown of voters, the AfD was particularly popular among men, with 50% voting for the party compared to 39% of women. AfD voters also tended to be less economically secure and less educated.
Saxony-Anhalt is a relatively small state, and one of the poorest in Germany's former communist east, but Alice Weidel, the AfD's other national co-leader, hailed Sunday's result as a milestone and said her party aimed to win at least 40% in the next national election, due in 2029.
The AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist by the local office of Germany's domestic intelligence service, but it dismisses accusations of extremism as scaremongering and an insult to the party's millions of supporters.
While far-right leaders in Europe welcomed the result as a mandate for change, and U.S. billionaire Elon Musk cheered on the AfD from the sidelines, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told RTL radio it "sends out a very, very worrying signal."
"This shows that we face a major challenge in the face of a populist wave which is spreading around the world today and which we must resist," said Lescure, whose own country holds national elections next year that could see far-right veteran Marine Le Pen become president of France.