The most feared man in German politics cleared his throat and took a sip of water as his audience hushed in anticipation, their mobile phones aloft and set to record. “I’ve got to protect my voice for my first speech as state premier,” Björn Höcke said with a grin. The crowd went wild.
Three eastern German states hold elections next month and, by a quirk of the calendar, the regions up for grabs are among those with the most supporters of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland. If the polls are accurate, the AfD could wind up the strongest party in all three, a year before the planned date of Germany’s next general election. Depending on who you ask, it would be a political earthquake, a catastrophe or a wake-up call for the country.
