To protect our democracies, liberal parties must urgently change their tactics The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) narrowly failed to secure an outright majority in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. Decades of far-right election gains have made them seem normal to the point where only the biggest victories are deemed newsworthy.
To protect our democracies, liberal parties must urgently change their tactics The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) narrowly failed to secure an outright majority in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt.
Decades of far-right election gains have made them seem normal to the point where only the biggest victories are deemed newsworthy.
But 44% of the vote for a party that is officially classified as "extreme right" is not normal.
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To protect our democracies, liberal parties must urgently change their tactics The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) narrowly failed to secure an outright majority in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. Decades of far-right election gains have made them seem normal to the point where only the biggest victories are deemed newsworthy. But 44% of the vote for a party that is officially classified as "extreme right" is not normal.
While Saxony-Anhalt (and Germany itself) may have dodged the worst outcome because the AfD won't automatically fulfil its ambition of forming the first far-right state government in Germany since the Nazi era, there is no reason to assume it will be so lucky at the next election.
This party is among the most extreme in Europe. We must therefore update our analyses and strategies.
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