Germany’s election results were hardly unexpected, but the AfD has not positioned itself as one of them

Alternative for Germany (AfD) party doubled its voter share from 10.4 percent in 2021 to 20.8 percent .

The political centre appears to be holding—but for how long? Many outside observers have described Merz ’s exclusion of the AfD as undemocratic.

Germany has serious problems with Islamism as a consequence of failed multiculturalist immigration policies.

Thirty-five years after reunification, Eastern Germany still lags behind the West socioeconomically, with 14 percent lower wages.

The EastWest divide, however, runs deeper than socioeconomics, with many in the East placing their hopes in what they perceive as a viable alternative.

Die Linke secured the support of 34 percent of young women, but just 14 percent of men.

Die Linke remains a relatively small political party, the AfD could easily govern as a junior coalition partner.

Some argue that if the party is put to the test and fails, it will lose its voter appeal.

But the experiment has already been run in Austria , where AfD’s role model, the Austrian Freedom Party ( FPÖ ), has been in government as junior partner three times since 2000 .

Each time, leading party officials ended up in court or embroiled in major scandals.