It drives me up the wall when news organisations talk about "winning" elections with 45% in proportional representation areas. 55% did not vote for AfD, and AfD won't get a majority if that holds.

It is still terrible news, but the results are not the same as they would be in the UK say where 44% has given parties mega majorities and they can do anything they want. It should also be noted, that Saxony-Anhalt is in old East Germany, which is where it generally polls better.

But yes, the direction Germany seems to be taking generally is worrying.

I see the same thing here in Belgium. People have been voting left and center for a long time and they refuse to work with the rightwing parties. Which makes them complacent. And when people start voting rightwing because the left and center parties don't make any meaningful changes, those parties look at the rightwingers to copy them. Which is obviously the wrong thing to do and only worsens the problem. And obviously social media and (foreign) disinformation campaigns have also played a huge part in this.