In the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland has translated a historic electoral surge into a parliamentary caucus whose members carry histories that democratic societies have long struggled to contain — Stasi service, neo-Nazi affiliations, falsified credentials, and criminal records. The party's 44 percent of seats places it closer to governing power than any far-right movement in Germany since the Second World War, yet the institutional cordon of mainstream parties holds, for now. What unfolds in Magdeburg is not merely a story of vetting failures,