On Sunday, the far-right Alternative for Germany party made major electoral gains in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. It fell marginally short of an absolute majority, but trounced the incumbent CDU, the party of woefully unpopular chancellor Friedrich Merz. With just a few percentage points to make up, AfD now has multiple paths to government.
In this analysis, we take a look at why this once fringe party performed so well across the board, and how it could form Germany’s first far-right state government since the second world war.
Sweden, like much of Scandinavia, has long been perceived as a cuddly bastion of social democracy, a land of robust social protections and welcoming tolerance. While this may once have been the case, the last decade has seen the country pull in the exact opposite direction. Today, Sweden has one of the harshest immigration policies in Europe. It has slashed its refugee quota and deported hundreds of foreign nationals as national politics move further and further right.
This weekend’s general elections are expected to tighten migration controls even further. Henrik Emilsson, a sociologist at the University of Malmö, maps out this drastic shift in Swedish public opinion, as part of our ongoing article series entitled The Real Sweden.
And just over the Øresund Bridge, we’re looking at why, despite being constantly surrounded by famously delicious pastries, the Danes have much lower rates of obesity than the UK and other European countries. Taking the food theme a little further south, we find out why the rich history of French cheesemaking is full of holes.
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