Brandenburg's coalition struggles as AfD leads polls by record margin
One thing must be acknowledged about Brandenburg's SPD and CDU, despite all the criticism of their coalition agreement: State Premier Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and his future interior minister, Jan Redmann (CDU), clearly recognize the gravity of the situation. They understand that they may have one last chance to halt the near-unstoppable rise of the AfD. If they fail, the far-right party could achieve in Brandenburg's 2029 state election what once seemed unthinkable: an absolute majority. In the latest January poll by the Insa institute, the AfD already stood at 34 percent—nine points ahead of the SPD and 21 points ahead of the CDU.
The question, however, is whether the new coalition will take measures capable of preventing an overwhelming AfD victory. There are serious doubts about that. If the government plans to create much-needed jobs specifically in the arms industry, it will only play into the AfD's hands. The party can then continue to portray itself as a "peace party," even though it fundamentally supports reintroducing conscription and strengthening the Bundeswehr.
It is somewhat understandable that the coalition wants to cut vacant positions in the public sector to close a budget gap running into the billions. Without increasing revenue, spending is otherwise nearly impossible to control. But how, in such a situation, can the coalition even consider appointing additional state secretaries?
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