German Chancellor Friedrich Merz clashed with AfD leader Alice Weidel in parliament, calling her party a "destructive force" whose migration policy amounts to "ethnic cleansing" for skilled workers.

Merz was addressing the Bundestag in the aftermath of the anti-immigration party's sweeping victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD won almost 44% of the vote. The chancellor's conservatives saw their support halved, finishing at 17.2%.

Weidel, speaking as leader of the main opposition party, opened the session by telling Merz his Christian Democrats had been "pulverised" in Saxony-Anhalt. She accused his coalition with the Social Democrats of driving Germany towards bankruptcy and said voters had shown the partnership was a total failure.

Merz hit back, saying the AfD had harmed German interests by backing Russia and that its "remigration" policy would affect millions of people.

"You are and will remain a destructive force," he said, accusing the party of deceiving voters. Before the election, the AfD's candidate for state premier, Ulrich Siegmund, had said he would only govern if he won an outright majority. Hours after the vote, the party moved to seek one regardless.

It remains unclear whether the AfD will be able to form a government in Saxony-Anhalt. The party fell three seats short of an outright majority. No far-right party has held power in any of Germany's 16 states since World War Two.

Merz has acknowledged the result was "seismic" and that it has changed Germany.

The AfD has opened the door to working with other parties, including potentially the left-wing populist BSW, provided they back Siegmund as state premier. A senior AfD figure in Saxony-Anhalt also suggested Merz's CDU could cooperate with the party if it abandons the so-called firewall — the principle under which no mainstream party will work with the far right.

The AfD's Saxony-Anhalt branch has been designated "right-wing extremist" by German domestic intelligence. The party has promised a "deportation and remigration" offensive targeting irregular migrants.

The result drew praise from US President Donald Trump, who said "the Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night," linking the victory to what he described as "absolutely horrible immigration rules and regulations."

A phone call between Trump and Merz, scheduled for Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, was postponed. A government spokesman in Berlin confirmed the call had been delayed without giving a reason. No new date has been set.