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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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John Kampfner

The shadow of the AfD hangs over German democracy – but I still have faith in my adopted country

Protesters in Halle hold a large banner reading
Demonstration against the far-right Alternative für Deutschland in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, 29 August 2026. Photograph: Maria Castro/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Two events take place in coming days that will affect my relationship with Germany. One, which will be splashed across the media, is dark and forbidding. The other, which will pass unnoticed except by me and my close family, should have brought me joy. Now that feeling is tempered with confusion.

On 6 September, voters in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt are expected to give Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) a resounding victory. If the arithmetic falls in a certain way, a German far-right party could assume power for the first time since the Nazis.

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