Germany's far-right AfD party is closing in on a once-unthinkable prize: an absolute majority in a state government. As polls show the party in the lead ahead of Saxony-Anhalt's September 6 election, can the center hold?

All eyes are on the election in the small east German state of Saxony-Anhalt. A potential absolute majority for the far-right there could shake up German politics and rattle…

With the AfD on course to win the Saxony-Anhalt state election, the need to secure an agreement on Brussels’ spending power is more pressing than ever.