AfD Wins Saxony-Anhalt
Germany's far-right AfD scored a historic state win, raising pressure on Berlin.
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Updated Sep 7, 6:50pm ETEvery side, every morning
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The reporting
The far-right Alternative for Germany won Saxony-Anhalt’s state election with 43.8% of the vote, finishing first but three seats short of an outright majority in its bid to lead Germany’s first far-right state government since World War II. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU fell to 17.2%, increasing pressure on his federal government. The CDU ruled out working with AfD, leaving the party to seek a coalition partner or attempt a minority government. Merz said he would remain in office and continue planned economic reforms.
Analysis & opinion
Centrist FailureLeft & Center
Germany’s political center has failed to stop the AfD’s rise. The result in Saxony-Anhalt exposes the weakness of the anti-far-right firewall and shows that centrist politics helped create the conditions for the nationalist surge.
Populist BreakthroughMostly Right
The AfD’s win shows that right-wing populism is breaking through establishment attempts to marginalize it. Germany’s anti-migration populist movement has democratic momentum, and its success could reshape politics well beyond Saxony-Anhalt.
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