AfD mot seier i delstatsvalg

Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to secure a whopping 44.5% of the votes in the regional election in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, according to early predictions from broadcaster ARD, reports Bloomberg. This marks the far-right party's best-ever performance in a regional election in Germany. The ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which has long governed the state under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is expected to garner only 18.5% of the vote.

AfD's leading candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, aimed to secure enough mandates to form a government alone, though he is currently only securing a slim plurality. Siegmund told Bloomberg, "We achieved exactly what we set out to do." All other parties have ruled out cooperation with AfD. Saxony-Anhalt's state minister Sven Schulze from CDU says the party will not collaborate with the extreme right.

"Some say this is a dark day for Saxony-Anhalt. I say this is democracy," Schulze told party members in Magdeburg. AfD leader Alice Weidel believes the result gives the party a "clear mandate to govern" and says she plans to contact CDU politicians to secure a majority. The party ran on curbing immigration and anger over high energy prices and weak economic growth.

German critics have classified parts of AfD as a threat to the constitution. The Social Democratic Party and the Greens each received 8.9% and 8.2% respectively.