AS THE DUST settled after elections in Saxony and Thuringia, two states in eastern Germany, one thing was clear: the hard right had notched up a first. In Thuringia the Alternative for Germany (AfD)—a party whose branches in both states have been formally designated as extremist—topped the polls in a state election for the first time since its founding just over a decade ago. In Saxony it fell just behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)—and only because many voters lent their votes to the conservatives to keep the AfD from top spot. Turnout in both states was high. Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, called the result “bitter” and urged other parties to keep the AfD from power.