What follows Merkel?

Quentin Peel on an analysis of the far-right threat to Germany’s future.

The World Today Updated 27 September 2020 2 minute READ

Quentin Peel

Former Associate Fellow, Europe Programme

We are the People: The Rise of the AfD in Germany
Penny Bochum
Haus Curiosities, £7.99


Angela Merkel, Germany’s long-serving chancellor, has had a very good pandemic. Her background as a scientist, her calm competence, wealth of experience and natural instinct to be a crisis manager have all combined to push her popularity to the highest level since she came to power 15 years ago. Around 80 per cent of Germans agree she is doing a good job, and seem to regret she has promised to step down next year.

The opposite appears true for the disruptive political party that threatened to be her nemesis in the twilight of her leadership. The hard-right Alternative for Germany (Af D) has seen its support slump into single figures over the past six months, as coronavirus took hold, and the leadership has split over an attempted purge of neo-Nazis in its ranks.

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