AfD: Studie belegt Milliardenlücke im Programm der AfD Sachsen-Anhalt

A study conducted by the Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research (IWH) in Halle has revealed a significant financial gap in the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's electoral program for Saxony-Anhalt. The IWH found that the party's promises, as outlined in their own accounts, are not fiscally viable. Reint Gropp, the president of the IWH, stated to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that "the election program is a fantasy balloon, it cannot be financed."

Five weeks before the state election, the AfD remains at 41 percent in a new Infratest Dimap survey. The party pledges to introduce extensive new benefits, reduce taxes, and forgo new debts. According to Gropp, the AfD is offering election "gifts" to a specific constituency it believes has earned these benefits. The IWH study only considered measures that could be reliably quantified from official sources, such as the party's program and its own statements.

The study estimated costs of around 1.6 billion euros and 877 million euros to avoid new debts, while only accounting for 243 million euros in savings. When including the pledged debt forgiveness, there remains an annual shortfall of at least 2.2 billion euros, roughly a quarter of the state's tax revenue or about 1,000 euros per resident per year.

The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has faced criticism in the past due to its election program, which includes hardline migration policies, cuts to democratic support bodies, and radical education reforms. Constitutional experts even deem parts of the program unconstitutional. The full study is available here. More: Federal Minister Schneider warns against an "angst" debate on the rise of the AfD.