Germany Poised to See Far-Right Milestone in Vote

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Germany votes on Sunday, with the latest polls suggesting that Angela Merkel will earn a fourth term as chancellor. A year ago, that outcome seemed in doubt, notes an analysis at Vox, thanks to Merkel's welcoming policy on refugees from Syria and elsewhere. So why is Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union party seemingly poised for another win? The short version is that "the world is a scary place," writes Sarah Wildman. And Merkel, who is sometimes called "Mutti," or Mommy, "is a comforting hand on the tiller."

  • Far-right milestone: Maybe the most notable facet of the election is the surge in popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Known for its anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, and anti-EU positions, the AfD is poised to become the first far-right party in Germany's parliament since the end of World War II. (It's polling at about 11%, good for a third-place finish, reports CNBC.) As Politico explains, it has virtually no chance of joining any governing coalition, but it has a very good chance of turning into a "fixture of German politics."
  • Real winner? Amplifying the above, the Washington Post thinks the "real winner" of Sunday's vote won't be Merkel but the AfD, destined to pick up a decent number of seats. "The party panders to a grab-bag of conservative impulses, giving a political home to climate-deniers, Euroskeptics, xenophobes, and chauvinists tired of Germany having to atone for the Holocaust," writes Ishaan Tharoor. But Merkel's open-door policy for refugees is most responsible for its newfound popularity.

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