Georg Ismar in the Süddeutsche: ‘In Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU faces the threat of losing power in the state election on September 6; for the first time, the AfD could provide the Minister-President. Moreover, the SPD’s entry into the state parliament is uncertain. Scenarios are therefore looming that could shake the coalition in Berlin.’

And: ‘And Merz of course knows that Söder is also waiting in the wings. In September, elections will not only be held in Saxony-Anhalt, but two weeks later also in Berlin and Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania. Depending on the outcome, it is conceivable that Merz himself could be put into question within the CDU/CSU. In the ensuing debate about his successor, two names would certainly circulate: that of the Bavarian Minister-President and that of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister-President Hendrik Wüst.’

No, Weimar it is not. But the centrist parties continue to implode steadily. The AfD is marching forward.

(a sf 2195)