A major defeat for liberal democracy

The Alternative for Germany made a stunning breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt, winning around 44 percent of the vote and coming close to taking power outright in the eastern German state.

Exit polls and the early count suggested that AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund would narrowly miss the numbers needed to become state premier. The party is described as far-right by Germany’s security authorities, but that designation did not prevent a large share of voters from backing it.

The result came down to a handful of seats. The Social Democrats and, especially, the Greens performed slightly better than expected. If either party had fallen below the five-percent electoral threshold, the AfD would probably have secured an outright majority.