The Free Democrats picked up some of AfD’s positions. For example, the Euro. Both of them did well, and especially in eastern Germany. The eastern Germans continue to see the influx of immigrants as taking away jobs and driving down wages. Since reunification, the Left Party tapped into their anxieties. Now, the Free Democrats and AfD are. Similarly in this country, Donald Trump connected with working class whites on jobs and wages; and, I think, he will have a great opportunity to connect with working class minorities when he runs for re-election.
I’ve sat around in Germany and watched the whole thing unfold since 2013.
I think the biggest shock is that the Linke Party....which often brags on it’s support for the common German working man...had probably the greatest opportunity ever imagined. They could have picked up the immigration topic...gone to oppose Merkel’s vision in various ways. They would have have taken the bulk of votes that the AfD had, and even some additional votes away from the SPD. It might have been a pretty close election between the CDU and Linke Party.
Instead, the Linke Party sat there, did mostly nothing, supported the Merkel-vision and watched jobs affected, and wages pushed back down.