Germany's far-right, pro-Israel AfD sweeps Saxony-Anhalt in historic electoral breakthrough

The far-right, pro-Israel Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has experienced a historic electoral breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt, a German state, according to an exit poll from the recent state elections. The AfD secured 44.5 percent of the vote, more than doubling its 2021 share, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union trailed significantly with 18.5 percent.

Chancellor Merz's party has yet to secure enough seats or political support to form a state government following the AfD's victory. The result has raised alarm bells in France, with opposition politician Jean-Luc Melenchon warning that the far-right is making a comeback in the country. Despite the AfD's classification as a far-right party, Israel's government has considered it a potential political partner, praising the party for targeting groups that support Palestinian rights and proposing a ban on the antisemitic BDS movement.

The AfD leadership has sought to position the party as a staunch supporter of Israel, despite antisemitic and Holocaust-revisionist statements made by some of its members. Co-leader Alice Weidel has described the AfD as "the only protector of the Jewish people" in Germany and has tied the party's support for Israel to its campaigns against Muslims and immigration.