The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to a 20-point lead in Saxony-Anhalt polls, putting the anti-immigrant party on track for a possible absolute majority in September’s state elections.
An INSA poll released on Monday showed the AfD up one point to 42%, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) plunging to 22%.
The AfD has never participated in a ruling coalition in Germany's 16 states or its federal government, as all other mainstream parties refuse to work with it, a policy infamously known as the "firewall."
Despite the party branch in Saxony-Anhalt being branded a confirmed case of right-wing extremism by domestic intelligence, it stands a serious chance of securing an outright majority in the election, depending on whether several minor parties fail to achieve the 5% threshold needed to win seats in the state parliament in Magdeburg.
One of those is the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which has vocally campaigned against another CDU-led government in the state and is emerging as a potential kingmaker, reaching 5% in the INSA poll.
