Germany's far-right achieves an electoral breakthrough in key state election
The far-right AfD party achieved a historic electoral breakthrough in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, causing significant political instability. Mainstream parties are now struggling to form coalitions to prevent the AfD from gaining governing power.
Why it matters
The rise of the AfD signals a major shift in European politics and challenges the traditional 'firewall' strategies used by established political parties.
BERLIN — Germany's populist, far-right Alternative for Germany party has declared victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after more than doubling its share of the vote in the first of several regional elections this fall.
Falling just shy of an absolute majority to form the regional government, it's not yet clear whether the AfD will govern Saxony-Anhalt. But the outcome is already causing a political earthquake.
According to preliminary final results, the AfD won 43.8% of the vote — its strongest performance in any German state election, which puts the far-right party within reach of power for the first time since the time of Nazi Germany.
The center-right Christian Democratic Union more than halved its share of the vote, falling to a historic low of 17.2%. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) received 9.3%, the Greens 8.9%, and the Left party 8.6%.
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