Veteran German state leader steps down ahead of election as AfD looms

Germany's longest-serving state premier is stepping down ahead of a crucial election later this year that could see the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) make unprecedented gains.

Reiner Haseloff, from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has served as leader of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt since 2011.

The 71-year-old was set to chair his 733rd and final Cabinet meeting on Tuesday before making way for his chosen successor Sven Schulze, who is to be sworn in at the state parliament in Magdeburg on Wednesday.

Haseloff's retirement is intended to boost the CDU's chances of holding on to power after the state holds elections on September 6 by giving Schulze an opportunity to enjoy an incumbency advantage.

But the incoming premier faces an uphill battle amid a surge in support for the anti-immigrant AfD, whose chapter in the state is under investigation by intelligence services as a "confirmed" right-wing extremist organization.

The latest poll in Saxony-Anhalt from October had the party at 40%, putting it within reach of an absolute majority in what would be a historic first for the party.

The AfD - Germany's largest opposition party following national elections last year - has proved especially successful in the former East Germany, where economic development and opportunities still lag behind the former West.

The party won a state election for the first time in neighbouring Thuringia in 2024, but was unable to form a government after other parties refused to form coalitions with it - a policy known in Germany as the "firewall."