🔻Post-election polls show that Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is moving far ahead of its main rivals toward a major victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

It is not yet clear whether this victory will be enough to take power in the state, but the AfD says it has obtained permission to form a government.

The party received about 44.5 percent of the vote, more than double the votes it had received in 2021.

The conservative party of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz’s CDU, saw its support drop to half, reaching 18.5 percent.

Since World War II, no far-right party has gained control of a state in Germany, and government at the state level would mean power over the police, local education, and culture.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) has tough immigration policies, is socially conservative, and has a pro-Russia stance.

The party considers the election in Saxony-Anhalt a potential opportunity for success across Germany.