German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was facing pressure Monday after his party was crushed by the Alternative for Germany party in a regional election that could result in it leading the first far-right state government since the Nazi era.

The AfD, classified by Germany's domestic intelligence agency as an extremist group in some regions of the country, fell just short of a majority in Sunday's election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

While Sunday's election was only regional, it has major national implications.