Could Europeans awaken next Monday to another shock bellwether moment? German voters could for the first time since World War II give an outright majority to a far-right party in regional elections. We ask about the AfD's push in Saxony-Anhalt and a charismatic lead candidate whose campaign strives to put charm above the vitriol usually associated with a party with pro-Nazi roots.
Saxony-Anhalt has a familiar tale: that of a former East German state rattled by globalisation with declining industry and an ageing population. Contrast its dying towns and villages with the dynamism of not-so-far-off cities like Berlin and Leipzig.
Speaking of Leipzig, the German government this week directly accused Russia over last month's drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport. Do German voters care that we're talking about the same Russia that's actively aligned with Moscow and a Trump administration that claims immigrants are a bigger threat to Europe than Russian hostility?
These questions may be the warmup for next spring's French presidential poll, where Marine Le Pen's party this week floated the idea of banning the Muslim headscarf in public.
Both the far-right National Rally and Germany's AfD oppose a more federal Europe. What happens if they win?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.
