No. And it is not at all guaranteed that they will end up in a regional government. For that they need a coalition partner. And this will be the test for all the other parties. Still quite glad to be living in a different part of 🇩🇪.

Just think, under first-past-the-post, 34% is enough to give you a huge majority.

Do you think there’s a chance of the AFD being banned in the next few years?

The BSW is little better than the AfD but the CDU is talking of cooperating with them in one of the regional parliaments.

Always good to hear this kind of viewpoint. Obviously I’m super sensitive to the potential for the rise of something like Nazism, whether from the right or left. What’s happening in Germany is absolutely not that, and indeed I felt that Corbynism here was a greater threat than the AfD is in Germany.

Any idea what BSW will do?

Agree Helene, for many reasons

Well that is something to hold onto. What is it that voters say they want? All of the populist parties are keying into some sense of grievance what is it about these regions of Germany? I've read lots of plausible and not so plsusible explanations ranging from economic to Rusdian interference.

The test for the other (non-extreme) parties is whether they can (again) succeed in clearly winning elections with reasonable, honest, and humane policies.