With 44.5% of the vote in regional elections, Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old AfD candidate, led the far-right party to victory in Saxony-Anhalt.
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This result represents an unprecedented development for the AfD, which for the first time ranks as the leading force in elections for a German state parliament. The victory has placed Siegmund at the center of political attention in Germany and elevated him among the most important figures of the far right.
His career did not begin in political institutions. Before becoming a well-known name, Siegmund gained popularity on social media, especially during the pandemic, when he posted videos on TikTok opposing government measures.
He opposed the use of masks, vaccinations, and other requirements from authorities, which he described as “insane.” Communicating with a friendly and optimistic tone, he attracted millions of viewers and built a broad base of followers online.
Currently, Siegmund is followed by more than 850,000 people on TikTok, an extraordinary number for a German politician. During the campaign, he used this platform intensively, recording political activities and the crowds supporting him with his phone.
Paula Diehl, a professor at the University of Kiel, has assessed that Siegmund’s activities are not aimed only at those present at events, but above all at the online audience.
In 1990, just a few weeks after the reunification of East Germany with the West, Ulrich Siegmund was born. He spent his childhood in Tangermünde, in eastern Germany, an area that after reunification faced declines in the economy, employment, and population.
When he was in his 20s, he worked as an account manager at a healthcare service provider. Later, he founded a business in Berlin that dealt with selling air fresheners.
He began his political journey in the Christian Democratic Union, CDU, but in 2014 he joined the AfD. According to him, he left the CDU because of the party’s rigid structures, while in the AfD he saw a force that opposed the policies of the central government in Berlin.
He won his first mandate as a deputy in the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt in 2016, when the AfD took 24% of the vote.
During the pandemic, his presence on TikTok significantly increased his national recognition. The videos turned Siegmund into one of the most well-known figures of the AfD and gave him the opportunity to communicate directly with voters.
Unlike many other AfD leaders, Siegmund is known for a calm, positive, and friendly communication style. However, alongside this style, he advocates hardline positions on immigration and other political issues.
The AfD has promised mass deportations of immigrants and has declared that Islam is not compatible with the German constitution. In its program, the party has also proposed cutting funds for public broadcasters, banning pride parade flags in schools, and expanding Russian language instruction.
German intelligence authorities have classified the AfD as a suspected extremist organization. Some of its leaders have expressed pro-Russian stances and made controversial statements about the Nazi period.
Siegmund has also been involved in debates over how he handles Germany’s Nazi past. In a podcast interview, he stated that he could not determine whether the Holocaust was the worst crime in human history.
Likewise, he refused to condemn supporters who had chanted his name using the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil.”
During the campaign, Siegmund also used nostalgia for East Germany as part of his political profile. Although he was born after its fall, at some events he appeared traveling on a Simson motorcycle, closely linked to everyday life in East Germany during the communist period.
At one electoral event, the anthem of former East Germany was sung. This action sparked controversy and led even some AfD figures to distance themselves from it.
At the same time, Siegmund tried to convey a message of hope for the future, channeling voters’ discontent regarding unemployment, living costs, and economic difficulties.
“Things are going badly everywhere and this is a bad and demotivating place to start. I want things to start moving uphill,” he has said.
In August, the German magazine Der Spiegel described Siegmund as “the most dangerous man in Germany.” This assessment was partly linked to his optimistic and friendly style, which, according to critics, makes the AfD’s harsh policies more acceptable to some voters.
His supporters turned this label into a symbol of pride and during electoral meetings asked him to sign copies of the magazine.
Siegmund has stated that the ability to communicate and motivate people is one of his strongest points.
“I can give motivation, create a sense of optimism, and get things moving forward again,” he has said.
The AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt has turned Ulrich Siegmund into one of the central figures of the far right in Germany. After a journey that went from TikTok videos and the air freshener business, he now finds himself at the center of one of the most important political developments in the country.
