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From Wagenknecht und das BSW: Mit Schlagzeilen in den Überlebenskampf, tagesschau.de, 18 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
The party leadership is emphasizing its own importance in a federal state in which the AfD is heading towards more than 40 percent.
Word for word: The party-top stresses the own importance in a federal-state, in which the AfD toward more than 40 percent steers.
A news-style sentence saying that the leadership of a party stresses how important it is in one German federal state, where the AfD is on course to exceed 40 percent (of the vote).
A main clause with verb-second word order (betont) is followed by a relative clause introduced by the preposition in plus a relative pronoun (in dem); inside that relative clause the finite verb (zusteuert) stands at the end, and the separable prefix zu- of zusteuern appears reattached because it is not a main clause.
Rules at work(7)
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Die Parteispitze betont
The finite verb betont occupies the second position of the main clause after the subject phrase.
In a German main clause the finite verb is always the second element. The first element can be the subject, but it can just as easily be a time expression, an object or a whole subordinate clause; whatever it is, it counts as one element and the verb follows it. This is why putting something other than the subject first pushes the subject after the verb.
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in dem die AfD auf mehr als 40 Prozent zusteuert
In the relative clause the finite verb zusteuert stands at the end.
In a subordinate clause the finite verb stands last. Where the clause also holds a participle or an infinitive, the finite verb goes after them, so the order at the end is participle then auxiliary.
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in dem die AfD ... zusteuert
The preposition in is pulled before the relative pronoun dem referring to Bundesland.
A relative pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun it refers back to, and its case from the job it does inside the relative clause. The clause is verb-final and always separated by a comma.
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Die Parteispitze betont
Singular subject Parteispitze takes third person singular betont.
The finite verb takes an ending that matches its subject in person and number. The endings for regular verbs in the present are e, st, t, en, t, en.
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in einem Bundesland
in takes dative einem Bundesland because it expresses location, not motion.
An, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor and zwischen take the accusative when the phrase answers where to, and the dative when it answers where. The distinction is movement across a boundary against position, not motion against stillness.
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zusteuert
zusteuern is separable, but in the verb-final subordinate clause the prefix zu- remains attached to the stem.
Some verbs carry a prefix that detaches in a main clause and moves to the very end: aufstehen becomes Ich stehe um sieben auf. The prefix is stressed, which is what tells a separable prefix from an inseparable one. In a subordinate clause and in the infinitive the verb stays whole.
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auf mehr als 40 Prozent zusteuert
zusteuern governs the fixed preposition auf with an accusative complement.
Many verbs are tied to one preposition and one case, and the pairing rarely matches the English one. Warten auf takes the accusative, denken an takes the accusative, teilnehmen an takes the dative.
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Words(16)
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- die Parteispitze
party leadership, party top brass
nounB2pl. Parteispitzengen. Parteispitzemixed declension
- betonen
to emphasize, to stress
verbB1betonen, betonte, betontmit habenweak
- eigen
own
adjectiveA2eigner, am eignesten
Usually used with a possessive: die eigene Wichtigkeit = 'its own importance'.
- die Wichtigkeit
importance
nounB1pl. Wichtigkeitengen. Wichtigkeitmixed declension
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- ein
a, an, one
determinerA1indefinite
The form einer here is dative feminine singular, not the pronoun meaning 'one'.
- das Bundesland
federal state (of Germany)
nounB1pl. Bundesländergen. Bundeslandesmixed declension
- der
who, which
pronounA1relative
- die AfD
Alternative für Deutschland (right-wing German party)
nounC1pl. AfDgen. AfDinvariable declension
Feminine: die AfD.
- auf
on, onto
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Location takes the dative, movement towards the accusative.
- mehr
more
adverbA1degree
Comparative of viel; before nouns it works like a quantifier with no article.
- als
as, than, when (past)
conjunctionA2correlative
here 'als Land' means 'as a country'; also used for comparisons and after 'als' in past-time clauses
- 40
forty
numeralA1
- das Prozent
percent
nounA2pl. Prozentgen. Prozentsstrong declension
- zusteuern
to head towards, to steer towards, to be on course for
verbC1zusteuern, steuerte zu, hat zugesteuertmit habenseparableweakauf + accusative
auf etwas zusteuern often means figuratively 'to be heading for' an outcome.