Is Ulrich Siegmund the most dangerous man in Germany?

乌尔里希·西格蒙德是德国最危险的人吗?

Today in Focus

2026-09-03

27 分钟
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Ulrich Siegmund, the charismatic young leader of the AfD party in Saxony-Anhalt, has been labelled Germany’s most dangerous man by Der Spiegel. John Kampfner explains why. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
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  • This is The Guardian.

  • Today, is Ulrich Seidmund really the most dangerous man in Germany?

  • The German news magazine Spiegel has long had a taste for provocation,

  • but one of their cover stories last month really made headlines.

  • It carried a picture of a young East German politician called Ulrich Siegmund.

  • He looked pretty good, his chin covered with designer stubble,

  • his hair combed into a neat quiff, his green eyes staring right into the camera.

  • Under the headline, Der Gefährlichste Mann Deutschlands.

  • Der Spiegel setzt den AfD Spitzenkandidaten Ulrich Siegmund

  • auf den Titel und nennt ihn den Gefährlichsten Mann Deutschlands.

  • The most dangerous man in Germany.

  • You might think that Siegmund would hate that Spiegel cover.

  • Far from it.

  • On the campaign trail in recent weeks, he has been autographing copies.

  • He even filmed himself signing one for his 800,000 TikTok followers.

  • Polls are correct, Siegmund could soon become the first far-right leader of a German state since Adolf Hitler's time.

  • Support for his AFD party in his home state of Saxony Anhard has reached 42%, almost double the tally of the CDU.

  • Party Friedrich Merz, Germany's beleaguered chancellor.

  • This Sunday's state elections could be one of the most important in post-war Germany.

  • If the AFD wins in Saxony and Hyatt, other eastern states could follow later this month,