Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, AfD, won Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt by a wide margin, marking a major political breakthrough for a party that has remained deeply controversial across Germany.

Exit polls put the AfD at roughly 44% of the vote, more than double the 20.8% it received in the state’s previous election in 2021. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, the CDU, finished a distant second at around 18%.

The result marks the first time since World War II that a far-right party has won a state election in Germany, a development carrying particular historical weight given the country’s Nazi past. Despite the size of the victory, it remains unclear whether the AfD will actually be able to form a government, as most other major parties have ruled out cooperating with it.

The AfD has repeatedly faced scrutiny over its most radical elements. The Saxony-Anhalt branch has been designated as right-wing extremist by the state’s domestic intelligence agency, while prominent AfD figures elsewhere in Germany have been embroiled in controversies involving Nazi-era rhetoric. Björn Höcke, one of the party’s best-known figures, has twice been convicted for using a banned Nazi slogan, while another senior AfD politician sparked outrage in 2024 after remarks concerning members of the Waffen-SS.

AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund has rejected the far-right label and presented the party’s victory as a mandate for major political change. The party campaigned on sharply restricting immigration, emphasizing German nationalism and restoring closer ties with Russia.

The election also represents a severe setback for Merz and the CDU, which had governed Saxony-Anhalt since 2002. The final seat distribution will determine whether the AfD can secure an outright majority or whether rival parties can assemble a coalition capable of keeping it out of government.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)