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Europe’s political centre fears a nationalist wave after far-right AfD wins in Germany

From The Guardian · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt, nearly doubling its result from the previous state election.
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right CDU fell to 17.2%, while the centre-left SPD took 9.3%.
  • The result has raised fears of a wider nationalist surge, although the article cautions against drawing sweeping conclusions from one state election.

The numbers are stark: the Alternative for Germany nearly doubled its score in Sunday’s Saxony-Anhalt election, taking 43.8% of the vote. The result has unsettled Europe’s political centre and raised fears that a nationalist wave may be gathering strength.

The AfD is described as a party that dabbles in Nazi imagery and distinguishes between “biological” and “passport” Germans. Its politics are considered too extreme even for France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The centre-right CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz collapsed to 17.2%, less than half its total in the same race five years ago. The centre-left SPD, one of Germany’s main governing parties for more than six decades, scraped 9.3%.

“The centre did not hold,” the article concludes. Yet it warns that the Saxony-Anhalt result alone cannot support sweeping conclusions about Germany or Europe. It may show voters’ discontent with the political centre, but the broader direction remains unsettled.

About this summary

Originally published by The Guardian in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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