Germany’s far-right AfD scores its biggest victory with Saxony-Anhalt landslide – POLITICO

BERLIN — Germany’s far right claimed its biggest electoral success since World War II in Sunday’s regional vote in Saxony-Anhalt, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party advancing to the cusp of genuine power for the first time.

The state election is seen as a key test of whether the anti-immigrant, Russia-friendly AfD — now comfortably the most popular party in the EU’s biggest economy — can turn its electoral strength into a position in government.

The party itself is candid that it sees the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt as a blueprint for its national ambitions, using the slogan: “It begins here.”