AfD seeks coalition partners after Saxony-Anhalt election win

Germany's far-right AfD party is seeking to form a government in Saxony-Anhalt after winning 43.8% of the vote in Sunday's state election, falling three seats short of an outright majority. The party is now courting other parties or individual lawmakers to support its bid to govern. Deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch called on opponents to enter talks, arguing that refusing to work with the AfD would reject voters' will and could lead to "severe chaos" or a new election. The party's state leader, Ulrich Siegmund, said it had a "clear mandate to govern" and initiated discussions with other parties on Sunday night. No far-right party has controlled a German state since World War Two, and governing would grant the AfD powers over policing and local education. The party's state branch is classified as "right-wing extremist" by domestic intelligence, a label Siegmund rejects.