The victory of a far-right party in a German state election has raised alarm across Europe. Many fear it heralds the demise of an anti-fascist consensus dating back to the defeat of the Nazis.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) may not have won the supermajority it sought in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, but the far-right party did take another giant step toward power in a country whose postwar democracy was designed to prevent the return of right-wing extremism.

MAGDEBURG, Germany, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could end up forming its first state government with the help of a small leftist party that shares its hostility both to mass immigration and to the mainstream parties' efforts to exclude more radical parties from power.

Ulrich Siegmund, a charismatic 35-year-old, has led the far-right Alternative for Germany to its strongest showing yet.

Germany's populist, far-right Alternative for Germany party has declared victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after more than doubling its share of the vote in the first of several regional elections this fall.

Sunday’s vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt could produce the strongest showing in the history of the Alternative for Germany party, and potentially a far-right government in the statehouse.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) says it has a mandate to govern after its landslide victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. The result puts a far-right party closer to power in a