AfD Near‑Majorities Break Cordon Sanitaire

In Saxony‑Anhalt the Alternative for Germany won 43.8% and came within three seats of a parliamentary majority, but a new left‑right fusion party (BSW) cleared the 5% threshold and prevented single‑party control. The result shows that coalition arithmetic and the survival of minor parties can determine whether a populist breakthrough translates into governing power. — If the cordon sanitaire against the AfD weakens, German governing norms and coalition strategies could shift, legitimizing a party long excluded from government and affecting EU policy alignments.