Posted on 03/13/2016 4:59:51 PM PDT by mandaladon
MAGDEBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Supporters of Germany's new anti-immigration party erupted into raucous celebrations in this eastern city on Sunday after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged into three state assemblies with scores that would have been unthinkable only a year ago.
"What an amazing evening," Andre Poggenburg, the AfD leader in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said in a fiery speech in the state capital Magdeburg, calling the result "brilliant".
"We fought like lions for your land," he said, dismissing Angela Merkel as "the worst chancellor in the history of Germany."
Formed three years ago in opposition to euro zone bailouts, the AfD has morphed into an anti-immigration party over the past year, kicking out its founder and seizing on a record influx of migrants to lure new voters and steal disaffected members of Merkel's conservatives.
On Sunday they had their best day ever, winning a shocking 24 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, to become the second-biggest party in the state parliament.
The AfD also performed better than polls predicted in two other states, winning nearly 15 percent in the prosperous southern region of Baden-Wuerttemberg and over 12 percent in Rhineland Palatinate, a western wine-making state.
Exit polls showed that the AfD drew most of their support from people who previously hadn't voted for a party, but they also drew thousands of voters from Merkel's conservatives, particularly in Baden-Wuerttemberg.
While populist, anti-immigrant parties have thrived for years in other European countries, Germany has been an exception, in part because opposition to far-right ideologies runs deep because of the country's Nazi past.
The refugee crisis has changed all that. More than a million migrants entered Germany last year, unsettling many Germans and turning the AfD into a force on the national stage almost overnight.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
Excuse me, I meant to write “(His only mistake was replying to *Nextrush’s* post again instead of replying to his own post.)”
Well, second worst.
Yes of course. Sorry. I’m brand new at this so will be careful next time. Promise.
I apologize, WonSpirit. I did mean to post that to myself. Tried to lighten the mood. I do that trick all the time.
AuH2ORepublican: you are right. I too jump the gun on people. Urg, I just jumped the gun on myself and ‘shot’ WonSpirit in the foot.
That Arthur guy is really an idiot, itsn’t he?
Now he needs to apologize to Nextrush!
Also keep being brave. Don’t ‘freeze up’ to much. Take it from one who spends half his time apologizing.
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