Berlin awoke this morning in a state of shock. Although opinion polls had predicted that the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) would do well in yesterday’s eastern state elections in Thuringia and Saxony, the cold reality that the anti-immigration, anti-Islamist party has topped the polls in Thuringia and come a close second in Saxony, takes some getting used to, even for cynical Berliners.
Mainstream centre and leftist parties in Germany have vowed to form a ‘brandmauer’ (firewall) against the AfD
The German capital is a left-wing island surrounded by the sea of states of former East Germany, which are rapidly moving to the far right. The AfD scored more than 30 per cent of the votes in both states yesterday; in three weeks, it will be the turn of Brandenburg, the state immediately abutting Berlin, to vote. It is expected to follow suit and hand another famous victory to the insurgent party.
Berlin has been the scene of frequent protests against the AfD in general, and its Thuringian leader Bjoern Hoecke, in particular.
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