Media projections after most ballots were counted showed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) taking about 44 percent in Sunday's vote in Saxony-Anhalt — prompting headlines describing an "avalanche" of far-right support and warning the result "sends chills" through the EU.
The vote lands at the start of what commentators called a pivotal stretch for the continent. Former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, writing in La Repubblica, noted that roughly half of Europe's voters go to the polls within months, starting with Sweden on Sept. 13 and continuing next year in France, Spain, Greece, Poland and Italy. He argued the cycle's opening with such a strong far-right showing leaves Europe "at a crossroads", forced to choose between accommodating nationalist movements or recommitting to deeper European integration.
Gentiloni described AfD as an extremist party whose platform pairs mass deportations with opposition to wind energy, while noting its friendliness toward Russia. He said the party's supporters were driven largely by nostalgia and sympathy for Moscow, and warned the result's implications could extend well beyond eastern Germany. Nationally, AfD is polling near 30 percent.
Turin's La Stampa struck a similar note, reporting unease in Brussels over the political standing of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and fears of a broader domino effect. In an editorial, the paper called the outcome "an alarm bell" for EU governments, framing it as a stark marker 81 years after Hitler's defeat.
The election also exposed divisions within Italy's own governing coalition. Foreign Minister and Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani called the AfD win "bad news", while League leader Matteo Salvini congratulated the party, calling its performance a "spectacular victory".
Corriere della Sera devoted attention to AfD's state leader in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, recounting how he turned a hostile magazine cover branding him "the most dangerous man in Germany" into a campaign asset — signing autographs on copies for supporters.
Pro-government daily Il Giornale offered the starkest assessment, declaring that the right "is no longer just a wind" but a force reshaping Europe. Its editor, Tommaso Cerno, called the collapse of Germany's Christian Democrats a warning for moderate conservatives and European Catholics more broadly.
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Source: PAP