Dirk Oschmann on Saxony-Anhalt Election: AfD Strength in Poorest State

In an interview with the Freitag, Dirk Oschmann, professor of modern German literature at the University of Leipzig, discusses the recent state election in Saxony-Anhalt and the continued relevance of his bestselling book "Der Osten: eine westdeutsche Erfindung," published three and a half years ago. Oschmann observes that debates preceding the election often echoed the 1990s and 2000s, with Western German demands to cut the state's share of the federal financial equalization scheme. He criticizes quality media for spreading such slogans, calling it evidence of a "strange understanding of democracy." On election Sunday, Oschmann was returning from Great Britain, and what he saw there confirmed his views. The interview, conducted by Sebastian Puschner, was published in the Freitag and also references Oschmann's remarks that such demands border on blackmail and constitute a call to breach the constitution. The article highlights the paradox of the AfD's strength in one of Germany's poorest federal states, a topic Oschmann addresses in his book, which examines Western German perceptions of the East.