The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a decisive victory in Germany's eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, far ahead of mainstream rivals. 2%, and tricky negotiations on who will run the state lie ahead.

AfD's charismatic leader in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, said it was "sensational" and the party had won a mandate to govern. No far-right party has controlled a German state since World War Two, and governing at state level would mean powers over policing, local education and culture.

1 million and the AfD in the state is assessed by domestic intelligence as "right-wing extremist", a classification rejected by Siegmund, 35. He along with joint national leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were overjoyed as exit polls revealed they were on track to score more than double the party's result in 2021.

Commentators and political opponents called the victory a watershed and break with the past. Main TV channel Das Erste cancelled its legendary crime drama Tatort to focus on what the result meant."

This isn't just about Saxony-Anhalt," Siegmund told supporters. " It's a signal for the whole of Germany - a self-confident signal."

US President Donald Trump posted a screenshot of the German TV projection on his Truth Social platform, and then Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev took a screengrab of Trump's post and praised a "historic win for the pragmatic AfD". Dmitriev had earlier praised the Russia-friendly AfD as "the party of hope and reason, co-operation truth and hope for Germany".

Ahead of Germany's federal election last year, US Vice-President JD Vance endorsed the party, in a move criticised in Germany as political interference. A crowd of supporters at the AfD election night party HQ erupted in cheers as the projections came up on the screen.

A short while later, people burst into singing Germany's national anthem." We have made history in this state," Siegmund said.

His opposite number in the CDU, Sven Schulze, conceded victory as he watched the conservative vote slump by more than half on the previous election." This was an extremely tough and intensive election campaign," said Schulze, adding that his party would have to deal with the result.

Germany's centre-left SPD described the outcome as "truly dramatic" and national leader Lars Klingbeil, whose party is in government nationally with the CDU, described the outcome as a "signal to Berlin" and he was adamant that they would hear it. The anti-migration AfD stands for Alternative für Deutschl and.