In Germany, the far-right AfD party suffered a surprise election setback

The German far-right suffered an electoral setback on Sunday 28 January following demonstrations on an unprecedented scale in the country against its programme, although it had seemed to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory for months.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party lost its bid to win a second cantonal presidency during local elections in the Saale-Orla district, in the East German region of Thuringia. His candidate, Uwe Thrum, won just 47.6% of the vote in the second round of voting on Sunday, improving on his first-round score by just 1.9 points, while his conservative rival benefited from a strong vote carryover and finished at 52.4%. The defeat of the AfD, which had started as favourites, was achieved “Thank you for mobilizing civil society”Second estimate in the Thuringia region, social democrat Georg Mayr.

The election was a test at a time when the party and its opponents have been rocked for nearly two weeks by mass protests against what its program calls racist. More than 800,000 people took to the streets over the weekend, particularly in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, to denounce the AfD and the threats to democracy they believe it represents, organizers said Sunday. Last weekend, organizers estimated the number of participants at 1.4 million.

This mobilization of civil society began with a press revelation that caused an earthquake in Germany: members of the AfD, an anti-immigration and anti-system party, discussed plans for mass deportations at the end of last year. Land of foreigners and “Non-Assamese Citizens”.

“The Evil Genie is Out of the Bottle”

A poll conducted by the INSA organization following the first demonstration recently showed a drop in voting intentions for the AfD to 21.5%, compared to 23% previously. events “has an effect”The institute’s director, Hermann Binkert, speculated in the daily Build.

The fact is that the Afd is the second most popular party in Germany in polls behind the conservative opposition of the social democratic chancellor, Olaf Scholz. It is due to the increase in immigration and the record unpopularity of the governing coalition in power. As per daily FAZBetween 130 and 150 new members join the far-right party every day, whose number of activists could rise from 40,000 to 60,000 members by the end of the year.

“We must face the facts: the evil genie is out of the bottle”On a daily basis, this week also condemned Die Zeit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had tried to curtail the party’s growth so far. AfD is “Danger to Democracy”and their arrival at responsibilities “will ruin Germany economically”But on Sunday the Liberal finance minister, Christian Lindner, warned.

But listen Can Germany ban the far right?

The economic world is also warning of the dangers associated with progressing AfD’s thesis, emphasizing its need for foreign labor and international trade. The party recently said it wanted a referendum to leave the European Union.

“People will come only if they feel good about us and only then will we remain attractive sustainably”Judged Peter Adrian, President of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry DIHK.

In this context, more and more voices are calling for the AfD to cut public funding, especially since the party is in the crosshairs of the intelligence services. Its regional branches in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt were placed under surveillance because their positions were considered too radical.