Story summary
In a potentially historic election, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is poised to gain power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. This would be the first time a far-right party has held state-level power in Germany since World War II.
According to exit polls, the AfD is leading with around 44% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago. This would give them an absolute majority in the state legislature and allow them to govern on their own. The AfD's success has been fueled by popular disillusionment with successive governments in Berlin and support from formerly communist states in the east.
The party's platform includes restricting immigration, quitting the Euro, and restoring ties with Russia. If successful, this could mark a significant shift in German politics and potentially have far-reaching implications for the country's future.
Experts warn that an AfD victory would give them significant political leverage over state resources, including education, where they hope to achieve goals such as creating separate classrooms for refugees and promoting a patriotism agenda that focuses less on the country's Nazi past.
Written for “Germany's Far-Right Gains Power” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 51 other(s) covering the same event.
A far-right leader who has won an important state election in Germany has thanked Elon Musk for his support, as voices in Europe warn the result is a serious moment for the continent.
asserted
result → win → continent
No far-right party has led or formed a government in Germany since the defeat of nazism at the end of the second world war.
asserted
party → lead → war
Ulrich Siegmund, the Alternative für Deutschland’s lead candidate, thanked Musk on X after the tech billionaire said “Well done!” in German to the AfD co-founder Alice Weidel.
asserted
billionaire → thank → Weidel
The populist, far-right, anti-immigration party won the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
asserted
party → win → Anhalt
During its campaign, the AfD sought to capitalise on a mood of nostalgia for the communist East Germany and discontent among east Germans.
asserted
AfD → seek → Germans
The party has promised a remigration and deportation offensive, to ban rainbow flags in schools and halt the building of new windfarms.
asserted
party → promise → windfarms
It wants to change the slogan of the state from “Think Modern” to “Think German”, and reintroduce the singing of the country’s national anthem in schools.
asserted
It → want → schools
-
Will the AfD be able to form a state government?
asserted
AfD → form → government
Despite its resounding victory, the party fell just short of a majority.
asserted
party → fall → majority
It was seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern alone and overcome the so-called “firewall” of the mainstream parties, which refuse to work with it.
asserted
which → seek → it
The final results showed the AfD falling three seats short, with 39 lawmakers in an 83-member legislature.
asserted
AfD → show → legislature
Donald Trump posted a screenshot of the election projection without comment on his Truth Social site.
asserted
Trump → post → site
The Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev took a screengrab of Trump’s post and praised a “historic win for the pragmatic AfD”.
asserted
envoy → take → AfD
The AfD is pro-Kremlin, urging a stop to support for Ukraine and pushing for Ukrainians in Germany to no longer receive refugee status.
asserted
Ukrainians → urge → status
Iran war likely to drag on for another six months, former US defense secretary warns
asserted
secretary → drag → months
Donald Trump’s war with Iran is likely to drag on for another six months, the former US defense secretary Leon Panetta has said, adding that it risks becoming another “forever war in the Middle East”, with no clear end in sight.
asserted
it → drag → sight
“It’s no mystery that the United States and Iran are caught in a terrible stalemate, in which there really are very few options available to bring this war to an end,” said Panetta, who also served as CIA director under Barack Obama.
asserted
who → ’ → Obama
“I think the likelihood is this war is going to continue for another six months without being resolved,” he added.
asserted
he → think → months
-
Who else has been saying Trump’s war may not achieve its aims?
uncertain
war → say → aims
The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said on Sunday morning Washington might not be able to reach an agreement with Tehran that would prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons.
uncertain
that → say → weapons
“We are strangling their economy to try to bring either a change in policy from the existing regime or a new regime,” he said.
asserted
he → strangle → regime
Lindsay Clancy murder trial ends in dramatic deadlock
Lindsay Clancy, prosecutors, defense lawyers, the judge and the millions watching on were back where they started after her five-week trial over the murder of her three children ended in a mistrial.
asserted
trial → end → mistrial
The case has ceased for the moment, but the legal wrangling is not over and a second trial could now be on the horizon, prolonging and repeating an agonizing spectacle that has gripped the US and the world.
uncertain
that → cease → US
-
What will Clancy’s defense team most likely do?
asserted
team → do → What
They will almost certainly push to have the charges against their client dropped, aggressively lobby against another trial and make a case to the district attorney’s office along the lines of: “Why are you doing this to this poor woman?
asserted
you → push → woman
She’s still clearly obviously suffering.
asserted
She → suffer → ?
She’s been punished with her paralysis and, worse than that, the loss of her three children.
asserted
She → punish → children
Flock surveillance cameras spur rare bipartisan backlash
Growing factions from both sides of the political aisle in the US are pushing back against surveillance cameras made by a single company, a rare response in a sharply divided country with a president pushing an unwaveringly pro-tech agenda.
asserted
factions → spur → agenda
There are about 120,000 Flock cameras across the US, which conduct roughly 2bn scans a month.
asserted
which → be → scans
The company is staring down controversy after reports of abuses of its cameras by police officers in multiple states, who have used them to stalk former lovers and track people seeking abortions.
asserted
who → star → abortions
The network the cameras feed into is also frequently used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
asserted
cameras → feed → Enforcement
In other news …
-
Hawaii has declared a state of emergency as powerful Hurricane Lowell makes its way toward the islands.
asserted
Lowell → declare → islands
-
The Trump administration renewed its appeal to the US supreme court to allow restrictions on mail-in voting, after a federal judge had blocked new limits.
-
More voters are identifying as Democrats and shying away from calling themselves Republicans, according to the latest quarterly data.
uncertain
voters → renew → data
-
Falling ceiling debris at the Kennedy Center has renewed debate over much-needed renovations, with preservationists worried the board may seize on the incident to close the institution.
-
The UK government has condemned balaclava-clad far-right activists who blocked roads in the south of England after a boat carrying asylum seekers arrived in Portsmouth.
Stat of the day:
uncertain
boat → fall → day
At least five dead after Amazon cargo plane crashes at Miami airport
asserted
plane → crash → airport
An Amazon cargo plane crashed at Miami international airport in Florida after the flight overshot the runway, striking several vehicles and resulting in at least five deaths.
asserted
flight → crash → deaths
Three people were left in critical condition and two more were hospitalized as operations at the airport were brought to a halt.
asserted
operations → leave → halt
Even in safe-haven Massachusetts, trans care is at risk, but young people are fighting to protect it
asserted
people → fight → it
Organizers with the youth-led group Protect Trans Futures (PTF) have staged an occupation, refusing to leave without a commitment to protect civil rights for trans children.
asserted
Organizers → lead → children
Tennessee says child rapists deserve to die – now it prepares to execute one of their victims
asserted
it → say → victims
…and 11 more, not listed.
