Nation & World NewsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz has doubled down on pushing through unpopular reforms to Europe’s largest economy after a far-right party surged to a landslide victory in a regional election, with a very good chance of forming the first far-right state government since the Nazi eraTop candidate for the Saxony-Anhalt state elections Ulrich Siegmund, center, attends a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)By GEIR MOULSON and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER – Associated PressUpdated 13 minutes ago*]:pointer-events-none [&.is-paywalled>*]:blur-[7px] story-paygate_placeholder" data-start="0" data-end="3" data-size="3" data-feature="inline-link" readability="42.973488865323">BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz doubled down Monday on pushing...