AfD's Record 45% in Saxony-Anhalt Puts Germany's Firewall to the Test

The AfD won 45.3% of second votes in Saxony-Anhalt's September 6 state election — the largest share any party has secured there since 1990. This makes the AfD dominant in coalition negotiations. Germany's "firewall" — the informal convention by which mainstream parties refuse to govern alongside the AfD — is political custom, not law. Whether it holds is now the central question.