Germany’s far-right AfD won a landslide victory in a key regional election Sunday in the ex-communist east, taking at least 44 per cent of the vote according to exit polls by two public broadcasters.
“We have made history today,” said a jubilant Ulrich Siegmund, the 35-year-old lead candidate of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt state.
It was, however, too early to tell whether the AfD will have enough votes for an absolute majority that would allow it to govern a state alone for the first time.
The centre-right CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz came a distant second, winning around 18.5pc, according to exit polls by broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
Depending on the eventual count, the CDU’s state premier Sven Schulze would hope to still be able to form a new multi-party coalition to block the AfD from power.
