A visit to a stronghold of the AfD, Germany’s far-right party
Its candidate is a cop suspended for protesting against covid lockdowns
CLOSE TO THE Czech border, south-east of Dresden, around the Elbe valley, lies one of Germany’s prettiest though clunkiest-titled electoral districts, a constituency called Saxon Switzerland Eastern Ore Mountains (SOE). Its majestic sandstone peaks, verdant trails, beautiful medieval cities and villages have been memorialised by German romantics such as Caspar David Friedrich, a 19th-century painter. Hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the district every year. Unemployment and crime are low. The population is almost entirely ethnic German.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A visit to an AfD stronghold”
Europe August 28th 2021
- A visit to a stronghold of the AfD, Germany’s far-right party
- France’s Greens prepare to pick a standard-bearer
- The Social Democrats’ surge upends Germany’s election campaign
- Employment is growing strongly in the euro zone
- Bullies proclaiming “national patriarchy” harass Russian feminists
- The fiction that Turkey is a candidate to join the EU is unravelling
From the August 28th 2021 edition
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Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare
A rise in antisemitism puts Europe’s liberal values to the test
The return of Europe’s oldest scourge
Once dominant, Germany is now desperate
As an election looms its business model is breaking down