About two-thirds of people in Germany regard the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a threat to democracy, according to a new Politbarometer poll conducted by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for the broadcaster ZDF. Asked whether the AfD poses a danger to democracy in the country, 68% of respondents said yes and...
Shadows of the Third Reich in AfD politics
After Germany’s defeat in the Second World War in 1945, the country built its subsequent political system on the principle that a repeat of the political catastrophe of the Third Reich must be impossible. The new political order of the Federal Republic of Germany rested on recognition of and acceptance...
Berlin prepares to restrict Alternative for Germany’s access to secret defense plan
The German government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz is considering measures to limit access by members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to the country’s classified operational defense plan, known as OPLAN Deutschland. The roughly 1,000-page document was drawn up in 2024 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine....
French Foreign Minister warns that concessions to the far-right lead to disaster
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said democratic and republican forces have no right to make any concessions to the far right. At the same time, he called for an urgent response to the “despair and public anger” that are fueling the rise of such parties. The...
AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt election
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election after all ballots were counted, taking 43.8% of the vote, the state election commission said. It is the party’s strongest result in any state election and more than double its 20.8% share in 2021. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian...
How AfD’s campaign against wind power serves the Kremlin’s interests and could harm Germany
Against the backdrop of the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD has turned its fight against wind energy into a tool for mobilizing voters and an argument for returning to Russian energy supplies. On 26 August 2026, NDR noted that in its propaganda materials about wind turbines the party...
In Germany, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party was fined for a Nazi salute on an election poster
The Frankfurt (Oder) Regional Court sentenced Wilko Möller, a member of the Brandenburg State Parliament from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to a fine of €11,600. The sentence was handed down for using the symbols of unconstitutional organizations. The court found that the politician's 2024 election poster depicted a gesture...
Europe’s new political balance consequences of the right turn
The results of recent elections in European countries showed significant electoral fluctuations. In Europe today, there is a systemic shift that changes the rules of the political game. The wave of votes for nationalist, populist, and openly radical parties has strengthened these parties' positions in national and European parliaments, giving...