International

The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, admitted this Monday that the electoral victory of Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt is a shock for him and for his party, the Christian Democratic CDU, which collapsed at the polls, but also for Germany in general. At a press conference in Berlin alongside the still regional president of the state, the Christian Democrat Sven Schulze, the Chancellor said that this victory “will have consequences” and that “it is not possible to simply return to the agenda without more.”

The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), elated after its overwhelming electoral victory on Sunday in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, hopes to gain the support of individual CDU deputies in order to govern this sparsely populated eastern state, which has become the epicenter of a tremendous shake-up in German politics.

Elon Musk, the South African billionaire owner of SpaceX and CEO of the social network X (formerly Twitter), has been one of the first figures to congratulate the German far-right for their results in the Saxony-Anhalt elections.

Alternativa para Alemania (AfD) was established as an anti-euro party in 2013. With the migration crisis of 2015, and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, it transformed into a basically anti-immigration party. AfD shares a program with other European far-right parties, but offers nuances that make it very particular and unsettling.

The very discreet and distant reaction of the National Rally (RN, far right), Marine Le Pen’s party, to the resounding victory of Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state of Saxony-Anhalt contrasts with the widespread alarm among French parties over the rise of the ultras in the neighboring country. Only the Reconquest party, led by Éric Zemmour, an ally of AfD in the European Parliament, has expressed its satisfaction, albeit without excessive enthusiasm.

The resounding victory of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the regional elections of Saxony-Anhalt will not only have repercussions in Germany. It may also embolden populist and far-right forces across Europe, encouraged by this phenomenon at the start of a turbulent period where key elections are expected in countries as important to the continent’s landscape as France, Italy, and also Spain.

The anti-fascist wall that has preserved European democracy since the end of World War II is cracking. The overwhelming victory of Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt opens a gap that frightens the Élysée, Downing Street, Moncloa, and others…

On August 12th, millions of citizens mobilized to witness and experience a historic moment: the total eclipse. The Moon came between the Sun and our planet Earth, darkening it for just over a minute. The scientific, social, economic, and…

At least five people died after an Amazon cargo plane crashed off the runway after landing at Miami International Airport, authorities confirmed.

Donald Trump’s emissaries, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff, completed their final mission in Kyiv this Sunday. This was not without difficulty, as they had to relaunch peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. After meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, the American mediators arrived for the first time in the Ukrainian capital by train to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky.