Sep 5, 2026 – 5.00amState elections are rarely closely watched in Europe, but a poll this weekend in a corner of Germany is likely to reverberate across the Continent. Some 500,000 voters are expected to cast their ballot for a party that is nakedly pro-Russian and classed as “extremist” by Germany’s intelligence service.Opinion polls show the Alternative for Germany (AfD) receiving 40 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, putting it on track to win a majority, and become the first far-right party to hold power in Germany since the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Andrew TillettEurope correspondentAndrew Tillett is The Australian Financial Review’s correspondent for Europe, based in London. He was formerly foreign affairs and defence correspondent based in Canberra.Fetching latest articles
Germany’s far-right set for power for first time since the Nazis
The anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin Alternative for Germany is poised to break through at a state election on the weekend, rocking Europe’s political establishment.
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