AfD landslide win in Saxony-Anhalt raises far-right power concerns

Germany’s nationalist AfD won a landslide victory in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, raising the prospect that it could become the first far-right party to gain power in Germany since the end of World War II. The result came largely at the expense of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU and may deal a severe blow to the establishment’s long-running “firewall” approach of keeping the far right out of coalitions. Unless the AfD wins outright, it still faces a lengthy struggle to assemble a coalition. Regional governments have also considered barring the Euroskeptic party, which advocates mass deportations and closer Russia ties, from intelligence briefings.

”