Magdeburg, Germany: Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany was projected to secure a historic victory in Sunday's regional election in Saxony-Anhalt, raising the possibility of the country's first far-right state government since World War II, though it remained unclear whether the party could secure enough support to govern.

The AfD's 35-year-old candidate for governor, Ulrich Siegmund, celebrated the projected result as a landmark moment and blamed Chancellor Friedrich Merz's unpopular government for helping fuel support for the far-right party.

Siegmund told ARD public broadcaster that "we have written history." Voters, he said, had sent a signal that "things cannot carry on like this."

It was "also a signal toward Berlin," Siegmund said. Of Germany's leader, he added: "A very good campaigner for us in this election campaign was Friedrich Merz. Every day this man is in the chancellery is one too many."

The AfD entered the election seeking an outright majority in the state legislature, which would allow it to form a government without relying on other parties and potentially break the so-called political firewall maintained by mainstream parties that refuse to cooperate with it.

Projections from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, based on exit polls and early vote counting, put the AfD at around 44% of the vote, more than twice its support in the previous regional election five years ago.

The Christian Democratic Union, the centre-right party led nationally by Merz, was projected to receive about 18.5%, roughly half its previous support. The Left Party, Social Democrats and Greens were each projected to win around 9%.

The projections indicated that the AfD was at least marginally short of the absolute majority it sought, although the final result could still change.

First far-right state government since World War II?

A victory strong enough to form a government would represent the biggest political breakthrough in the AfD's 13-year history. Modern Germany has not yet seen a far-right or right-wing populist party lead a national government, state government or major city government since World War II.

The result also represents a major setback for Merz, whose center-right party has governed Saxony-Anhalt for 24 years.

AfD national co-leader Alice Weidel called the projected result "sensational" and said "we have received a very clear mandate to govern here."

The party's "hand is outstretched to all who want to make Saxony-Anhalt better and move Germany forward," she said.

Incumbent governor Sven Schulze, visibly disappointed by the result, congratulated the AfD on becoming the state's strongest political force and said that "we as the CDU will also have to deal with this result," without explaining whether that could affect the party's position toward the AfD.

Franziska Hoppermann, national general secretary of Merz's party, described the outcome as "a very difficult result for us." She and other CDU figures rejected calls to abandon their refusal to cooperate with the AfD.

What does AfD want in Saxony-Anhalt?

Germany's 16 states wield significant powers, including responsibility for education and aspects of security policy, giving a potential AfD-led state government considerable influence.

Siegmund has made migration a central issue, listing among his priorities "the deportation of people who are illegal, a deportation offensive and above all dropping the incentives for why people come here and exploit our social system."

He also wants to begin a lengthy process to withdraw Saxony-Anhalt from the regional public broadcaster, citing concerns about "disinformation."

The AfD's regional platform also calls for allowing home schooling, which is currently not permitted in Germany, and proposes banning schools from officially raising the rainbow flag while requiring them to display the national flag.

The party also opposes taxpayer money being "given away" to Ukraine and supports lifting sanctions against Russia, although such foreign policy decisions are outside the authority of state governments.

AfD's Saxony-Anhalt branch is among several regional party organisations classified by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as a proven right-wing extremist group. The AfD strongly rejects such allegations.