In the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, Sunday's regional election presents Chancellor Friedrich Merz with a dilemma that no political calculus can resolve cleanly: whether the far-right AfD wins outright or falls just short, the consequences for mainstream German conservatism are grave. Merz, already the least popular chancellor in modern memory, finds himself caught between a firewall he cannot abandon and coalitions he cannot defend, while the far right continues to redraw the boundaries of what is politically possible in Germany. It is a moment that speaks to a broader reckoning acro