Saxony-Anhalt AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund drew controversy after saying weapons and other resources would be needed for a future “remigration and deportation offensive,” prompting him to later clarify that he was referring broadly to security equipment used by police and other authorities.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Alternative for Germany politician Ulrich Siegmund has sought to clarify controversial remarks in which he connected domestic weapons production with his party’s plans for large-scale migrant deportations, comments that came as the AfD leader emerged from a decisive state election victory in Saxony-Anhalt.
Siegmund, who leads the AfD in the eastern German state, made the comments while discussing a planned Israeli weapons factory in the region. His remarks were subsequently reported as suggesting that an AfD government could use weapons if necessary to carry out what the party calls “remigration,” its term for policies involving the large-scale removal of migrants from Germany.
“We do not condemn the production of weapons in general, because we will of course also need appropriate resources for later remigration and a deportation offensive,” Siegmund said.
The remarks circulated widely through an X post showing the exchange, fueling criticism over whether Siegmund was suggesting the use of armed force to carry out deportations.
Following the backlash, Siegmund said his comments should be understood as referring to the wider range of equipment needed by Germany’s security agencies rather than weapons alone.
“Arms production is a broad field. It includes not only weapons, but also equipment, vehicles, protective technology, and other resources that the German armed forces, police, and security services depend on,” Siegmund told German newspaper Welt.
The dispute comes at a consequential moment for both Siegmund and the AfD. Siegmund won last weekend’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote and is now engaged in talks with the left-wing BSW party about forming a coalition government.
The AfD has made tighter immigration enforcement and large-scale deportations central elements of its political agenda. Party figures frequently use the term “remigration” when discussing the removal of migrants from Germany, making Siegmund’s remarks particularly significant as he attempts to translate the party’s electoral gains into governing power.
The election result also represented a major setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democratic Union, which fell to one of the poorest performances in the party’s history.
Despite that result, Merz has insisted that he intends to remain chancellor.
The pressure facing the CDU could continue in another eastern German state. Polling ahead of elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania indicates the party could receive about 7% of the vote. Such a result would represent the CDU’s worst electoral performance to date.
Siegmund’s comments therefore arrive against a rapidly shifting political backdrop in Germany, where the AfD’s electoral gains and its immigration agenda are increasingly intersecting with questions about how the party would govern if it obtained executive power.
His subsequent clarification narrowed the scope of his original remarks by emphasizing equipment, vehicles and protective technology alongside weapons, but the initial connection he drew between arms production and a future “remigration and a deportation offensive” has placed renewed attention on how an AfD-led government would seek to implement its immigration policies.
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