Far-right AfD party wins regional election in eastern Germany

Germany's far-right AfD party won Sunday's state election in Saxony-Anhalt, though it fell just short of an outright majority. If the party forms a government, it will be the first far-right party to run a German state since World War II. The AfD's deputy parliamentary leader said the party is "very, very close" to taking power. Saxony-Anhalt has 1.7 million eligible voters, a small share of Germany's 59 million total, so any immediate effect will be regional. Still, political analysts have called the result a major turning point. The AfD is seen as more extreme than similar parties elsewhere in Europe, partly because Germany is the EU's most powerful country and the birthplace of National Socialism.