The AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, where it secured just under 44 percent of the vote, has rocked the political landscape in Germany. In other European countries, too, right-wing and right-wing extremist parties have also made significant gains in recent years and even participated in coalition governments. The election result in this German state coincides with a Europe-wide debate about the right.
The long-standing cooperation between the CDU and the SPD has created a vacuum that the AfD has filled, Jutarnji list concludes:
“Angela Merkel brought the CDU's policies closer to those of the SPD on many issues, which led to resentment among the leadership and electorate of both parties. The two parties' coalition government put an end to debates between rivals on political and other issues, thereby creating a vacuum that was filled by other political alternatives – the AfD and radical left-wing groups. ... This is not so much a success for the AfD as a failure on the part of the parties that have been in power for decades. On the issue of migration the AfD – a party that originally emerged in protest against the euro – has been able to present itself to the public as the antithesis of Angela Merkel and her open-door policy.”
“On the plus side, the next general election in Germany will be in 2029, which gives plenty of time for the conventional parties to win back public support. Everything will depend on how well the economy is doing. One of the reasons for the AfD's latest success was the economy and not migration, according to pollsters. Cost of living issues rather than migration were the main concern of voters on Sunday. Energy prices stoked by inflation of 3 percent drove voters away from the CDU, many seeing the result as a rebuke of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's failure to revive the economy.”
El Mundo examines Germany's mistakes since reunification:
“Some election victories can be explained by the political agenda, others by a map. The AfD's success in Saxony-Anhalt falls into the second category. The victory underscores a divide between federal states which Germany has been trying to mitigate and conceal for 36 years. ... Reunification promised convergence. Instead, rapid economic change ensued. ... Within the space of a few years, many towns lost jobs, residents and prospects. It would be a mistake to reduce 'Ostalgie' to a mere nostalgic yearning for a cruel regime. ... It reflects anger at the loss of job security, the depopulation of neighbourhoods and the lack of a recognisable shared project.”
Populists are rushing to fill the void that has emerged in Western Europe between the traditional parties and their voters, Trud writes:
“There is an informal pact between citizens and the state: people accept the system, the market economy and globalisation, and in return they receive a good standard of living and security. This pact has long since been broken – and not by the voters. In such cases an alternative always emerges that clearly defines the problems. Call them populists, but if they offer solutions – even if these are extreme and often wrong – they will win. This scenario is not new, and it can be frightening. The Germans know this better than anyone.”
Alliance of right-wing extremists would never hold
Europe's nationalists may be on a roll but they won't ever work as a team, The Guardian is convinced:
“Victory for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the state of Saxony-Anhalt over the weekend is not the biggest electoral prize won by a far-right party in Europe in recent years, but it is one of the most shocking because it is Germany. ... [Europe's] Nationalists do not form a monolithic bloc. The essence of their creed militates against cross-border partnership. Their egos generate more rivalries than alliances. Their selfishness sabotages deals. ... There is no law of history that says a height of liberal optimism must be followed by an equivalent fall into chaos.”
Anyone who sees the AfD's success as merely a German phenomenon is underestimating its scope, warns Yeni Şafak:
“The result of the election in Germany should not be dismissed as a merely regional matter. Saxony-Anhalt's shadow extends even beyond Europe. This result is neither a cause nor a consequence in its own right, but merely one of the waves sweeping across Europe. To worry only about the AfD is therefore too limited a perspective. The growing far-right masses across Europe are of course relevant. Especially for us. Hundreds of thousands of our citizens live in these countries, and we have close economic ties with Germany. What we are trying to say is: the 'pain' has not even begun yet.”
The pragmatism of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni could serve as a model for the AfD, the Kronen Zeitung reasons:
“An AfD government could hardly implement the most extreme demands of its election manifesto under the rule of law, and certainly not as a minority government. How can Ulrich Siegmund resolve this dilemma? Giorgia Meloni is demonstrating how. The former activist in a neo-fascist youth movement has simply forgotten all her radical tirades since taking power. She makes no secret of this and wants nothing to do with the AfD. For the past four years her voters have been content with symbolic right-wing politics that keep her hovering at a steady 27 percent in national polls. ... Is Meloni guilty of 'betrayal'? No: she has discovered responsibility.”
A quarter of a century has passed since three planes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in history to date, leaving 2,996 people dead and more than 6,000 injured. In the wake of these events, then US President George W. Bush declared a global "war on terror". For many commentators the knock-on effects of 9/11 are still felt today.
The terrorist attack marked a turning point for the US and the world, writes Visão:
“11 September 2001 was a watershed in terms of security, forever changing procedures at airports and in public places. It also led the US down a radically polarising path where traditional diplomatic language was swiftly replaced by moral and religious proclamations. ... The climate this created has ultimately redefined the social fabric, civil liberties and institutional architecture of Western democracies. And it has fuelled both Islamophobia on the one hand and hatred of America on the other.”
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