AfD's Historic Win in Saxony-Anhalt Puts Far Right on Cusp of Power

Germany's far-right AfD party won 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt's regional election Sunday, securing 39 parliamentary seats and falling just three short of an absolute majority, marking the first time since the Nazi era that such a party could potentially govern a German state. The AfD, founded in 2013 by economists with nationalist views, has shifted toward extremism under charismatic leaders and is infiltrated by neo-Nazi groups in eastern Germany. Its platform includes immediate deportations of irregular migrants, segregated classes for refugee children, and ending subsidies for museums deemed "too woke." The party's popularity stems from discontent in former East German states, where residents feel economically and politically marginalized 35 years after reunification. The AfD leads polls in three other eastern states, with elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania scheduled for September 20.