The first reaction is horror. That this is possible in Germany, 80 years after the dictatorship of the National Socialists, who were responsible for World War II, the Holocaust and plenty of other horrific acts. That in the year 2026, a party unwilling to draw a sharp line separating itself from Nazi Germany would win an election by a landslide. It remains uncertain who will ultimately govern Saxony-Anhalt – the process of finding a governing majority promises to be challenging – but the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has more than doubled its share of the vote. And its top candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has a chance of becoming state premier.

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The lead AfD candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, won more than 44 percent, even though the campaign made clear what could be expected from him and his people. He played the friendly, personable candidate, but surrounded himself with right-wing extremists and did not distance himself from AfD supporters harassing journalists or displaying the Hitler salute. That made – and makes – him extremely dangerous for liberal democracy. No other AfD candidate has ever won anywhere near as many votes in a state election as he has.