🔴 Germany: Victory of far-right AfD in state election 'very worrying', says Polish FM

Poland's foreign minister on Monday called Germany's far-right AfD party's victory "a very worrying sign" after the anti-migration party surged into first place in the Saxony-Anhalt state elections. However, it was not immediately clear whether the Russia-friendly party would be able to form the country’s first far-right state government since World War II, as it fell just short of an absolute majority. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Hungary's ex-PM Orban congratulates AfD on 'landslide victory' Hungary's PM Orban congratulates AfD on 'landslide victory' Victory of far-right AfD in German state election is very worrying, says Polish foreign minister The victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday is a disturbing signal, Poland's foreign minister said on Monday. "It seems they're just a few votes short of an absolute majority, but this is indeed a very worrying sign," Radoslaw Sikorski told Radio Vox FM. Germany's Merz under pressure from far-right election triumph German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will huddle Monday with his CDU party to discuss and digest their thumping defeat at the hands of the far-right AfD party in a state election in the ex-communist east. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany scored its biggest win yet Sunday with 44 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, against about 18 percent for the centre-right CDU, according to broadcasters' projections. The visibly dejected CDU state premier Sven Schulze said his campaign was not always helped by national government policies, saying that "we often faced headwinds, and that wasn't always easy". The ballot box triumph put the pro-Trump and Moscow-friendly AfD – officially listed as "right-wing extremist" by Germany's domestic intelligence agency – within reach of running its first-ever state government. France worried by victory of far-right's AfD in Germany state election French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Monday he was worried by the victory of far-right party Alternative for Germany in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday. "I recently had the opportunity to speak with German business leaders who were extremely concerned," Lescure said in an interview with RTL radio station. "This shows that we face a major challenge in the face of a populist wave which is spreading around the world today and which we must resist," he added, also saying that the result sent out a "very, very worrying signal."