Germany’s AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt, falls short of a majority

MAGDEBURG, Germany: Alternative for Germany is projected to finish first in Sunday’s election in Saxony-Anhalt, with about 44 percent of the vote, the BBC and German broadcasters reported, a result the party called historic and that still leaves it short of a majority.

The conservative CDU was projected around 17 percent. Other parties have spent a decade promising not to govern with the AfD. That cordon is now the entire post-election story.

NPR noted it remains unclear whether the AfD can form the first far-right state government in Germany since the Second World War. A first-place finish without partners is a protest victory. A cabinet is a regime.

Markets and Berlin will treat the Magdeburg result as a national signal heading into the next federal cycle.