Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff
“What just happened? As the Monitor’s Mark Sappenfield reported Tuesday, that’s what Germans are asking themselves after a far-right party won nearly 44% of the vote in a state election this week. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been viewed as an extremist threat to democracy by the government in Berlin, and a tacit ‘firewall’ among centrist parties has excluded it from local or regional governing coalitions. Yet, with its euroskeptic, anti-immigration platform, the AfD is now just three seats short of a governing majority in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and has 28% support among German voters nationally. The follow-up question for Germany, and Europe more broadly, is: What happens next? Or perhaps, what should happen next? The continued rise of right-wing populism across the 27-member European Union is placing new demands on traditional centrist and liberal political leaders.” (09/09/26)