Germany’s AfD party caused a political earthquake this week after it collected 44 per cent of the vote in an election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The party is set to be just three seats short of a majority government, marking the first time a German far-right party has been this close to power since the end of World War II.
The results were far worse than German chancellor Friedrich Merz expected, who’s own Christian Democratic Union party saw their vote share halved.
Despite a steady rise in popularity over the more than a decade, the AfD has been kept at arm’s length by a so-called “firewall”, meaning most parties have ruled out formally cooperating with them.
But could this result cause the firewall to come crashing down – and could the AfD finally find another party willing to help it form a government?
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