Nicolas Richter in the Süddeutsche: ‘The Federal Republic of Germany, once founded as an alternative to the system of Nazi criminals, is no longer immune to right-wing extremism. On Sunday, according to projections, the far-right AfD won a good 44 percent in Saxony-Anhalt— for the first time in a state or federal election, almost half of the votes. What remains of the long-held belief that Nazis, their sympathizers, and those who downplay their crimes had been banished from power in Germany forever is now the warning that nothing is secure for eternity.’

And: ‘But the democratic camp cannot hide from the implications of this election either: if the AfD does indeed fail to win an absolute majority in the state parliament, the CDU would presumably have to take over again, form a fragile coalition, and even cooperate with the Left.’

Was post-war Germany ever immune? More so then than now.

(a sf 2227)