If the EU is heading for the wilderness, where could it begin? Who will say the words?

The European Union’s political troubles may no longer be something its leaders can dismiss as the product of hostile imaginations, the article argues. Warning signs are accumulating, and Germany could become the place where Europe’s next crisis takes shape.

The focus is the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. A national Polibarometer poll cited in the article gives the far-right party 27% support, ahead of the CDU/CSU at 22%. In Saxony-Anhalt, where regional elections are scheduled for Sept. 6, the AfD stands at 41% in a Reuters-cited poll, compared with 24% for the CDU.

The party won 20.8% of the vote in Germany’s Feb. 23, 2025 legislative election, finishing second nationally behind the CDU/CSU. The article says its current polling numbers make the party’s political messages particularly important to watch.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said in a ZDF interview on Aug. 23 that Germany should leave the euro area. The party’s programme describes the euro as a “flawed construction” and an “unstable” currency, and calls for an end to the single-currency experiment. It also says that if the Bundestag does not decide the issue, Germany should hold a referendum on remaining in the euro area.

The article also examines concerns that the AfD could seek to weaken or abandon the Schengen Agreement to tighten border controls. It notes that the party’s official position is more nuanced because its policy documents do not explicitly call for leaving Schengen. Instead, it suggests the party may seek longer periods for member states to close borders and much tougher rules. The article ends while discussing those proposals.