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
The German news magazine Der Spiegel has long had a taste for provocation. But one of its cover stories last month really captured people’s attention. 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”: Germany’s most dangerous man.
You might think 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. If the polls are correct, Siegmund could soon become the first far-right leader of a German state since Adolf Hitler’s time.