Free Republic

U.S. President Donald Trump attributed the ​win of Germany's far-right Alternative for ‌Germany (AfD) party in a state election to existing immigration ​rules and regulations ​that he cast as "horrible." "Wow! The ⁠Populist Party in Germany ​just had a really big ​night. They finally got tired of the absolutely horrible Immigration ​rules and regulations which ​have hurt Germany so badly," Trump ‌wrote ⁠on Truth Social on Tuesday. The AfD surged into first place in state ​elections in ​Saxony-Anhalt ⁠on Sunday, putting a far-right party within ​reach of power ​at ⁠the state level for the first time since ⁠World ​War Two.

Germany will send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine from its national ​stocks, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday, warning that ‌Russia was likely to intensify its air campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure as winter approaches. Speaking at a videoconference of nations supporting Ukraine, Pistorius said he had decided to "deliver urgently" additional PAC-2 ​interceptor missiles. Patriot missiles are currently the only effective defence against Russian ​ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine, officials say. "Since Russia is only ⁠advancing very slowly at the front line, it is trying to destroy ​Ukraine's economic base and critical infrastructure by way of air raids...

BSW says it prefers an AfD-only minority government with give and take with parties outside government on specific issues.

Following its record election success, the far-right Alternative for Germany aims to form a government. What options does it have without a majority?

French government ministers expressed their worries on Monday over ​the impact of the victory of far-right ‌party Alternative for Germany in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surged into ​first place in the Saxony-Anhalt state elections, ​exit polls showed, putting a far-right ⁠party within reach of power at the ​state level for the first time since World ​War Two. "It clearly sends out a very, very worrying signal," French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told RTL ​radio. "This shows that we face a ​major challenge in the face of a populist wave ‌which ⁠is spreading...

"Seismic", "a socio-political earthquake", "a watershed moment for Germany". This was how political analysts and many media outlets described the stunning victory of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in local elections in Germany on Sunday. Is that an exaggeration? Saxony-Anhalt is one of the smallest of massive Germany's 16 regions. It boasts a mere 1.7m out of 59m eligible voters nationwide. How significant can its political sentiments be, especially since the AfD narrowly failed to win an outright majority? The answer: very significant. The vote may have been regional but it impacts at national level. The AfD landslide...

The far-right Alternative for Germany party surged to a major victory in a regional election on Sunday, but fell a little short of winning a majority in its quest to form the country’s first far-right state government since World War II. The German far-right party AfD has taken a commanding lead in Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt vote, but could not secure enough seats to form a majority. Final results showed AfD receiving 43.8% of the vote, more than double its showing five years ago in the region of 2.1 million people west of Berlin. However, falling three seats short, with 39 lawmakers...

Exit poll shows Alternative für Deutschland on 44.4% of vote in Saxony-Anhalt after huge turnout, with votes still being counted

BERLIN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged into first place in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, exit ​polls showed, putting a far-right party on the cusp of power at state level for the ‌first time since World War Two. The AfD won 44.5% of the vote, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives trailing well behind on 18.5%, and the centre-left Social Democrats and environmental Greens both clearing the minimum threshold to enter parliament, according to an exit poll from the ​ARD broadcaster.

The Alternative for Germany party has a strong lead in a regional election, but it is unclear whether it will be able to form the country’s first far-right state government since World War II, exit polls indicated Sunday. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, went into the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern on its own. That would overcome the so-called “firewall” of mainstream parties’ refusal to work with AfD. A first state government would be the biggest prize in the party’s 13-year history, at a time of widespread discontent...

At first glance, Magdeburg may seem an unlikely stage for a political upheaval of international significance. But this weekend, the city of only about 244,000 people will be at the center of an election that could leave a far-right party in control of a German state for the first time since World War II. Magdeburg is the capital of the East German state of Saxony-Anhalt — where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is hoping to rise to power in Sunday's state election. Supporters and opponents of right-wing populist movements across Europe and beyond are watching closely to see if...

This Sunday, the German state of Saxony-Anhalt holds its state election. The populist-right Alternative for German (AfD) is far out in front, but will have difficulty finding a coalition partner with which to form a ruling majority in the state legislature. AfD has been described as an extremist party, not merely a populist-right party. So, I thought I'd link to its manifesto (or platform). I'll say a few things about its manifesto in my comment following

BERLIN—Germany accused Russia of being behind a plot to send explosive drones to a German airport last month and pledged to retaliate against Moscow, a rare public attribution of blame in the widening campaign of incursions and sabotage across NATO territory. “We do not consider ourselves at war but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare,” said German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, announcing the findings Tuesday from an investigation into the incident at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month, for which he said Russia was responsible. The drone incident marked a serious escalation in what European security and military officials...

An unidentified object exploded at a train station in the southern German city of Augsburg early Wednesday morning, with two people sustaining minor injuries due to acoustic trauma, police said. Window panes were also reportedly damaged by the explosion, which occurred in a building passageway. No information is yet available regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident. Parts of the station were closed off as police continued investigating the scene. The State Criminal Police Office (LKA) is on the scene with an explosive-disposal robot, the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported. Police first responded to the incident at around 5 a.m. local time....

Germany’s Foreign and Interior Ministers spoke publicly in Berlin on Sep. 1, 2026, to publicly announce new measures the German government will take against Russia in light of “police investigations” and “intelligence findings” which conclude that a “low-level” Russian agent was behind the drone incidents at Leipzig in August. Security services were first alerted to a potential threat when a quadcopter drone was discovered on the airport tarmac next to a parked Antonov An-124 belonging to the Ukrainian state-owned Antonov Airlines. 800 grams of explosives were attached to the drone, which CCTV footage showed impacting the wing of the aircraft...

Drive from Buffalo into Genesee County and you will pass fields that have grown corn and soybeans for generations. Soon, thousands of those acres will be covered by steel and glass. New York state is forcing industrial-scale solar plants onto rural communities that never asked for them, and the people who live there are discovering just how little their voice counts when a governor decides differently. The Mandate Behind The Mess.. New York is tearing up rural communities, wiping out wildlife sanctuaries, and burying prime agricultural soil under solar installation in the name of green energy. The root of this...

After completing final assembly, the aircraft recently made its way to Aircraft Final Finishes, where it will receive its paint and finishes, including the stealth coating that helps reduce its radar signature.

It was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre. But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats. Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre said it had extended the invitation in hopes of dismantling some of the barriers that would normally keep these children away from the pool. While other groups had similarly been invited to use...

At a conference I attended recently in DC, I had the chance to show a lot of my colleagues around the downtown monuments. For them, many from other countries, seeing the Lincoln, the Washington, the Capitol, was once in a lifetime – for me, it was Tuesday. At one point, a German in the group – fatigue in his voice – asked me, “Tell me… How can Americans keep voting for Trump?” The term Trump was shorthand for Americans’ embracing nationalism and rejecting globalism, which seems oh-so backwards to our European cousins. I think he expected me to dance around...

Since Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in October 2022, German aid organisations have, according to Rome's figures, brought around 22,500 migrants to Italian ports. The dispute between Italy and Germany over the sharing of responsibility for migrants is becoming increasingly heated. The Italian Interior Ministry has now released new figures on private rescue vessels and is demanding financial compensation from Germany. Since Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in October 2022, German aid organisations have, according to Rome's figures, brought around 22,500 migrants to Italian ports. In total, about 42,300 people have arrived in Italy on board...