Germany’s firewall was meant to hold the far right at bay. It may have done the reverse

An AfD win in ​next month’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt would shatter a decades-long political consensus and reverberate throughout the EU

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In just over two weeks’ time, Saxony-Anhalt – home to historic timber-framed houses, the dramatic Harz mountains and the birthplace of Martin Luther – will hold what could prove one of the most significant state elections in Germany’s postwar history.

The vote, on 6 September, could see a far-right party whose local branch is officially classified by the country’s domestic intelligence service as “confirmed rightwing extremist” appoint a state premier and govern a state alone, for the first time.