Alarm bells are ringing across Europe as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has come within striking distance of forming Germany’s first state government since the Second World War. The xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and pro-Russian AfD—which took shape in the wake of the 2010 eurozone debt and banking crises—is only three seats short of an outright majority in the legislature in the eastern province of Saxony-Anhalt after Sunday’s elections.

Such a massive showing, with more than 43 per cent of the vote share and twice its previous total, puts the populist party in a commanding bargaining position during negotiations for government formation with potential coalition partners.

Any eventual control of the reins of power by the AfD—which Germany’s domestic........

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