Germans head to the polls in Saxony-Anhalt state election

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Germany votes on Sunday in a closely watched Saxony-Anhalt state election, with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party seeking to win state power for the first time since World War Two. The anti-immigration, socially conservative and pro-Russia party sees the vote as a potential springboard to national power, while critics view it as a major test for Germany. Also in the programme: President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Kyiv on Sunday; eleven days since the deadly flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border, we hear from a top United Nations official who’s visited Nepal’s worst-hit areas; and researchers in Chile have designed a suit made of woven zinc and copper to speed up the recovery of penguins after surgery. Joining Julian Worricker on the programme this morning are the author, journalist and activist Catherine Mayer, and Dr Marcus Böick, Assistant Professor in Modern German History at Cambridge University in the UK. (Photo: police officers stand outside the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament building, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Annegret Hilse)