AfD Landslide Shakes Germany as CDU Loses More Than Half Its Support

Germany's political landscape shifted sharply to the right on Sunday, September 6, as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a record result in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt. The party secured 43.8 percent of the vote, more than twice the support received by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The result represents the AfD's strongest performance ever in a German state election. Yet the victory does not give the party enough seats to govern alone: it won 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament. With Germany's established parties having repeatedly rejected cooperation with the AfD, the question now is whether the election winner can find a path to government. The result also raises broader questions about the growing strength of the political right in eastern Germany and the consequences for Merz's federal government.