CDU politicians weigh backing AfD after Saxony-Anhalt defeat

Members of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU party are considering supporting the far-right AfD after the party's victory in Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt state election. The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, far ahead of the CDU's 17.2%, but fell three seats short of an absolute majority. AfD deputy Maximilian Krah told The Telegraph that some CDU politicians are weighing backing his party following the "catastrophic" result, though he named no individuals. The AfD has previously been isolated by mainstream German parties refusing coalitions with the far-right. Deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch told the BBC the party is "very, very close" to power, arguing democrats must now talk to each other.