Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt state elections on September 6, 2026, far ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union at 17.2%, but fell short of a majority. The result has triggered anti-AfD protests and heightened concerns about whether Germany's decades-old "firewall" strategy of mainstream parties refusing to work with the far right can hold.
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There is no chance that the most left-wing party in Germany will go into coalition with the far right. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewal... Maybe the CDU, has lost contact with reality. The real danger is BSW. "Wagenknecht has ruled out a coalition with the AfD, but not cooperation with the party"
A blowout win by the far-right Alternative for Germany party in a state election has revealed a split among voters about whether to uphold a decades-old strategy for sidelining extremists.
For more than a decade, other parties cooperated to keep the far right out of power in Germany. But that strategy may have backfired over the weekend. For more than a decade, other parties cooperated to keep the far right out of power. That strategy may have backfired.
The fallout from the AfD’s landslide in Saxony-Anhalt is testing Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s reform agenda, Germany’s support for Ukraine and the political firewall designed to keep the far-right out of power.
Alternative für Deutschland has claimed a historic win in Germany, continuing the pattern of populist far-right parties gaining power across Europe. In the UK, balaclava-clad far-right protesters have marched on Dover, and then Portsmouth, trying to intimidate asylum seekers. Meanwhile, Reform UK’s conference ended with a beleaguered Nigel Farage dealing with protesters and allegations following a
Not enough to win outright but enough to shake Germany and Europe to their core: the far-right Alterniv für Deutschland trouncing the ruling conservatives in the impoverished former East German region of Saxony-Anhalt. We’ll ask about the consequences of voting for an anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party that wants schools to teach less about the ills of Hitler and more the glory of Bismarck.
The AfD victory in a state election is forcing a rethink of the country’s postwar strategy to safeguard democracy.
🟡 @MallenBaker The Far-Right AfD Just Pulled Down Germany's Firewall - And Maybe Europe's As Well The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's strong election performance in Saxony-Anhalt has severely tested Germany's political firewall—the mainstream refusal to govern with the far right—making coalitional isolation increasingly difficult and reflecting a broader surge in European far-right populism
The weekend win by Alternative for Germany in the state of Saxony-Anhalt has sent shivers across the continent, and could embolden the right across Europe.
In today’s newsletter: The AfD’s local election triumph has shocked Europe, and raised questions about how to counter the rising far right Good morning. Across Germany – and Europe more widely – there has been a palpable sense of shock and disbelief after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) swept to a historic state election victory in the early hours of Monday. It was, according to Fr
Chancellor Friedrich Merz was a drag on his conservative party in its disastrous loss to the far right in a state election. He has vowed better communication, but no policy changes.
Alarm that Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania may fall next after party’s Saxony-Anhalt election victory ‘It breaks my heart’: victory sparks dismay Europe live – latest updates Thousands of Germans have staged protests against the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) after the party’s watershed victory in a state election, warning it posed a danger in two more polls this month. Demon
Many years ago, Otto von Bismarck observed that politics was “the art of the possible”. The modern European establishment appears to have inverted the Iron Chancellor’s maxim. Politics has increasingly become the art of explaining to voters why what they want is impossible, irresponsible, xenophobic, Islamophobic, nativist or, inevitably, far right. And made it impossible to vote for the so-called