Researcher Quent warns Magdeburg could become a hub of far-right ideology
Far-right extremism researcher Matthias Quent sees Saxony-Anhalt as a possible hub for the scene. Martin Sellner founded an "institute" there shortly before the state election.
Symbolic image · Photo: Wolfgang Pehlemann Germany / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
Sociologist and far-right extremism researcher Matthias Quent warns that Magdeburg could become an international hotspot for producing far-right ideology, the Luxembourg newspaper Tageblatt reports. The background is an "institute" founded by Austrian far-right activist Martin Sellner in late August 2026, a few days before the state election; it is registered at the Stendal local court, with a company address in Chemnitz.
Sellner wrote on X that he wants to influence all of Europe via "hubs in Vienna and Saxony-Anhalt". According to the report, he promotes a "regime change from the right" and the concept of "remigration", which the newspaper describes as a cover for mass deportations.
Saxony-Anhalt does not yet have an AfD government. The AfD won the state election on Sept. 6 with 43.8 percent. Its co-parliamentary leader Ulrich Siegmund, who wants to become state premier, attended a 2023 meeting in Potsdam about "remigration", as did Sellner. According to ZDF, Siegmund intends to stand for election at the state parliament's December session.