Mamad Mohamad watched with mixed emotions as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) swept to a historic victory on Sunday evening in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
A member of the Greens, the 46-year-old is set to become one of the first lawmakers with an immigrant background to enter the state parliament, alongside Mustafa Groener of the Left (Die Linke) party.
For Mohamad, who arrived in Germany from Syria as a 16-year-old Yazidi Kurd in 1996, it was a milestone that should have been a moment of celebration. Instead, he described it as a "poisoned victory".
"My heart was split," Mohamad said, recalling the first projections that showed the AfD outperforming expectations while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's governing conservatives slumped to a historic low.
'CULTURALLY ALIEN'
The AfD has long campaigned for tighter immigration and asylum policies, arguing that Germany has lost control of its borders and that migration is putting heavy pressure on public services, security and social cohesion.
According to its election manifesto, an AfD-led Saxony-Anhalt would launch a state-level campaign to deport rejected asylum seekers.
The party also proposes encouraging businesses to adopt artificial intelligence and automation rather than rely on skilled migration from what it describes as "culturally alien" backgrounds.
The AfD rejects accusations that its rhetoric contributes to a hostile climate for migrants, insisting it opposes only illegal and uncontrolled migration.
"Everyone is warmly welcome who contributes positively to our society, who wants to work here, who is qualified, who pays taxes, and who abides by the law," AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said on Monday.
PACKED BAGS
The mood in Mohamad's family was somber on Monday.
His daughter, he said, was reluctant to attend school, one of several criticized by the AfD over projects that examine threats to democracy.
Though anxiety is running high in many immigrant communities, the result has prompted unease rather than surprise, said Undra Dressler, managing director of the State Network of Migrant Organizations in Saxony-Anhalt.
People with migrant backgrounds have long faced discrimination and structural barriers in access to work, education, healthcare and public services, Dressler said.
"All of this is our reality," she told Reuters.
Sunday's result nevertheless marks a turning point, she said. "There are many people in our communities who say: 'We've already packed our bags and have concrete plans, and we'll be leaving soon,' or, in some cases, have already left."
Pascal Begrich, managing director of democracy advocacy group Miteinander, said he did not expect a large-scale exodus, partly because of economic realities, but agreed that many migrants but also employers were reassessing their future in Saxony-Anhalt.
"There are companies asking themselves whether they really want to locate here and whether they can ensure their workers will be safe," Begrich told Reuters.
CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS
Mohamad said he feared the political shift could make it harder to attract newcomers to a state already grappling with demographic decline.
"Skilled workers and families will look elsewhere," he said.
Despite concerns about the state's political direction, both Dressler and Begrich stressed that any future government would remain bound by Germany's constitutional order and protections for minorities.
"Every government is bound by this," Dressler said. "And the 15 other federal states have a duty to monitor this and, if necessary, to intervene."
