AfD just won 44% in a German state. Now Germany's firewall faces its biggest test.
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Add Axios on Google Ulrich Siegmund speaks to reporters after exit polls showed the AfD leading Saxony-Anhalt's state election. Photo: Jan Woitas/dpa via Getty Images
Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, leaving a small party with seats that could determine whether it can lead the nation's first far-right state government since World War II.
Why it matters: Germany rebuilt its democracy after Nazi rule with unusually strong safeguards against extremism. AfD's breakthrough shows those barriers aren't stopping Europe's far right from becoming dominant electoral forces.
The latest: AfD more than doubled its 20.8% share in 2021, hitting its highest vote share ever in a state election and finishing ahead of the center-right CDU at 17%.
Yes, but: The arithmetic may not be enough.
Catch up quick: AfD has won the most votes once before , in 2024, but it has never governed.
Flashback: Trump allies' support for the far-right party became a transatlantic flashpoint during Germany's 2025 federal election.
Between the lines: Saxony-Anhalt's intelligence service has classified the state AfD as a right-wing extremist organization.
The big picture: Europe's far right is moving in sharply different directions.
Context: Germany's postwar system was built in the shadow of the Nazis' destruction of the democratic Weimar Republic.
What we're watching: German officials, including the defense minister, have floated limiting intelligence sharing over concerns about AfD's ties to Russia.
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