A Far-Right Party Is Projected to Take Power in a German State for the First Time Since World War II

Exit polls on 6 September 2026 show the AfD winning Saxony-Anhalt with 44.5% — enough to govern alone, which the party said it required. German intelligence calls the state AfD rightwing extremist. No such party has led a German state since World War II. The CDU, in power since 2021, dropped to 18.5%. Federal responses remain unclear.