Far-right Claims 94 Seats in German Parliament

Germany’s AfD party took 12.6% of votes in elections on Monday, marking the first time the young party has garnered significant public support in its four year history. The AfD focuses on anti-immigration, nationalism, and anti-Islamisation policy.

The demographic of those who voted for the party mirrored many US Trump voters: unemployed, male, manual workers. Like Trump, the party leaders draw support from fear of terrorism and loss of jobs due to immigrant laborers. Since World War II nationalism has been frowned upon in many part of Germany, but in eastern Germany the Nazi movement has continued to grow as people fear change or people that look different.

“The old people don’t dare leave the house after six o’clock,” 60 year old Birgit stated over a glass of an imported glass of celebratory champagne. “I live in such a beautiful place but when I open the door, the first thing I see is headscarves and then I go to the tram and I see the groups of young men.”

This behavior has been a trend throughout Europe as terrorism seems to effectively eat away at western democracies. Calls for isolationism from many developed democracies threatens to fracture the EU as many push for border security and heightened surveillance.