The Economist: ‘A record-breaking turnout, projected at over 75%, fell in the party’s favour; exit polls suggested that over half of the AfD’s growth since the last election in 2021 came from mobilising non-voters. Its score is not quite enough for the single-party majority that Ulrich Siegmund, the party’s lead candidate, had sought. But Mr Siegmund may yet have alternative routes to power. Either way, it is a result that will resonate far beyond this small, largely rural state. Alice Weidel, the AfD’s co-leader and an aspirant for the chancellorship, said she expected the result to topple the federal government and lead to fresh elections. That is a stretch, but Der Spiegel (…) called on Friedrich Merz, the chancellor, to consider his position. Even Donald Trump found time to post an election projection from a German pollster.’

Trump is happy. The AfD project: first destroy the CDU, then Germany.

(a sf 2228)