German Chancellor Merz admits far-right voters question support for Kyiv | DW News

And we want to take a closer look now at one particular aspect of the alternative for Germany win in Saxony-Anhalt . Opinion polls have shown that many voters backed the AfD because of its critical stance regarding Germany's support for Ukraine . DW chief political editor Michaela Küfner spoke to the lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund and asked him what kind of message he thinks the election sends to Russia . Here's his reply. . This is an appeal for peace . That's what matters . You see that nothing is changing . How many more people need to die on both sides ? It's just horrible. Ger . Germans and Europeans don't want that . And we don't want to get drawn into the conflict . It's a financial strain . We're sending billions into the country for what ? You know, I'm a member of the local government and we have to fight over every park bench, swimming pool, school, and hospital . Then we watch billions be sent to Ukraine . And the suffering just continues . That's the important thing . The money . And we're right . You need to get both sides to talk . More and more people want that . War is not the solution . That's why we say a good relationship with Russia is just as important as a good relationship with the Ukraine, with the USA, China, and whoever else . We have to learn from history that violence and war are never the answer . And let's bring in chief political editor Michaela Küfner now . Um, Michaela, I mean, this was only a regional election, but the polls showed that the AfD right now is the most popular party Germany-wide . What kind of significance does an answer like the one that we've just heard have ? Well, first of all, what's really significant is that this is a far-right AfD narratives to suggest that if you stop sending weapons to Ukraine, that that would end the war