- Published
Germany is holding its breath this weekend as there is a seismic election in the country's east.
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Germany → publish → east
The Alternative für Deutschland party is aiming to secure a majority in the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt.
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party → aim → Anhalt
An outright win would mark the first time a far-right party has held state-level power in the nation's post-war era.
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party → mark → era
But the party sees it as a stepping stone towards its dreams of nationwide power.
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party → see → power
This is an election that could change German history.
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that → change → history
The result could also spell fresh trouble for embattled conservative (CDU) Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as rumours persist about whether he can see out his term in office.
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he → spell → office
Booed during recent public appearances, Merz is hardly seen as an electoral asset.
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Merz → boo → asset
Perhaps the chancellor regrets a pledge to halt the rise of the far right, given that the exact opposite has happened.
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opposite → regret → right
By contrast, the charismatic AfD lead candidate in the state - Ulrich Siegmund - appears to have enjoyed dominating discussion and media coverage.
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candidate → appear → discussion
Dubbed "Germany's Most Dangerous Man" by Der Spiegel magazine, he has brushed off reports that people previously in the neo-Nazi scene are among those to hold influential roles around him.
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people → dub → him
The 35-year-old can often be seen, including in his own many social media posts, amongst adoring crowds or happily riding a retro East German scooter.
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old → see → scooter
A lingering nostalgia for the past, alongside an acute dissatisfaction with the present, has fed the party's popularity in its eastern strongholds.
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nostalgia → linger → strongholds
Voters voice frustration with immigration, public safety, Germany's struggling economy, high energy costs and aid being sent abroad to countries like Ukraine.
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Voters → voice → Ukraine
Some people I have spoken to passionately believe that the AfD is offering a real chance for radical change - and say Ulrich Siegmund has given them hope.
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Siegmund → speak → hope
Other supporters are less certain, but say they have lost faith with mainstream parties that have dominated politics for decades.
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that → say → decades
An AfD lawmaker once told me that if they got a shot at regional government, then people would see the "sky won't fall in".
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sky → tell → government
Some of the movement's detractors may disagree.
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Some → disagree → detractors
The party wants to segregate child refugees into special classes: "The refugee children should be given the message that their stay in Germany is only temporary."
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stay → want → Germany
The manifesto claims that "sexual deviations and non-reproductive lifestyles" have been aggressively promoted over "normal family" structures.
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deviations → claim → structures
LGBT rainbow flags should be banned from being flown at schools, the party argues, while children should be taught less about the Nazis and more about positive aspects of German history.
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children → ban → history
On immigration, a task-force would be set up as part of plans to detain and deport migrants who no longer have the right to be in the state, while the party also calls for an end to "illegal, culturally alien" mass migration.
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party → set → migration
The AfD's pro-Russia sympathies have also sparked claims that it cannot be trusted with sensitive intelligence.
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it → spark → intelligence
When a Russian army mug was spotted in the office of leading AfD figure Hans-Thomas Tillschneider in Saxony-Anhalt, he said it was just a souvenir, and "it's not our war".
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it → spot → Anhalt
That was as Berlin, this week, publicly blamed Moscow for a failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport.
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Berlin → blame → Airport
The Kremlin has denied involvement.
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Kremlin → deny → involvement
Meanwhile, German security sources have warned that Russian-backed disinformation campaigns, often against AfD rivals, have been escalating - something Moscow's representatives describe as "anti-Russian hysteria".
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representatives → warn → hysteria
State-level governments hold significant powers over areas including local education, policing and culture, while their delegates sit in the federal government's second chamber – the Bundesrat.
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delegates → hold → chamber
An AfD government in Saxony-Anhalt would be able to implement changes locally and gain a louder voice on the national stage.
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government → implement → stage
The party remains strongest in the former communist east Germany but it is also leading the polls nationwide.
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it → remain → polls
That is despite warnings that it has morphed from a Eurosceptic party, founded in 2013, into one that flirts with, or attracts, extremist support.
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that → morph → support
At one AfD rally, we saw a man wearing a T-shirt that read Arisch - the German word for Aryan that the Nazis used to promote their false theories of a master race.
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Nazis → see → race
We do not know whether the man was a party supporter, a member or merely an attendee.
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man → know → ?
He would not talk to us.
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He → talk → us
Saxony-Anhalt is one of several states where the party is officially classed as right-wing extremist.
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party → class → extremist
Domestic intelligence charges the local branch with being infused by a "racist ideology" and anti-constitutional aims.
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intelligence → charge → ideology
The AfD, which says it is a conservative, libertarian movement, dismisses these designations as politicised smears and rejects any comparisons with National Socialism.
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it → say → Socialism
Ulrich Siegmund has not ruled out getting rid of domestic intelligence (BfV) in the state if the AfD wins a majority.
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AfD → rule → majority
Other parties won't go into coalition with the AfD, as part of what is known as the Brandmauer or firewall that keeps the far right from government.
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that → go → government
That is why it must seek a parliamentary majority in order to be sure of securing power.
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it → seek → power
In Saxony-Anhalt, it is no longer about creating cracks in the firewall but rather trying to bypass it altogether.
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it → create → it
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
