Jans Verners Millers: Why the German Far Right’s War on Modern Architecture Matters

The political firewall keeping Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany out of government rests on one basic fact: the party has never won an absolute majority.

That could change in Saxony-Anhalt, where state elections are taking place this weekend. A strong AfD result, particularly an outright majority, could deal a potentially decisive blow to the arrangement that has allowed other parties to exclude it from governing coalitions.

The AfD’s popularity has risen sharply in opinion polls over the past two years. Yet despite that growth, it has not reached power because other parties have refused to form governing alliances with it.

The election therefore carries consequences beyond the state itself. It will test how durable the political barrier around the AfD remains when the party’s support continues to increase.