Merz calls AfD's Saxony-Anhalt win 'seismic' as CDU suffers historic defeat

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the far-right AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt a "seismic" result, as the party won nearly 44% of the vote in the state election, while ruling out any alliance with it. The AfD received 43.8% of votes, more than doubling its previous result, while Merz's CDU fell to 17.2%, a 20-point drop. Merz described it as the party's hardest electoral defeat in decades and acknowledged the result shook the CDU to its foundations. The AfD won 39 of 83 parliamentary seats, short of a majority, and is now courting CDU lawmakers to form a conservative majority. Merz ruled out resigning and reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, while neighboring France called the vote "very worrying."