German Elections Are over but the Suspense Is Still on

... component. The union of CDU-CSU and SPD earned much fewer votes than in 2013. Immigration was the hottest topic of the elections. All other topics were seen through the prism of immigration, be it foreign policy, or social problems. The ultra-radical Alternative for Germany won 12.6% of votes, making it to the lower chamber of the parliament as the third largest faction, which really came as a big surprise. Alternative made Germany quite a bit more “normal”, since populists can be found today in every European state. Yet, the Alternative soared in the eastern parts of Germany (up to 37% in some parts of the federal land Saxony) and in the areas largely inhabited by “the ...