Rise of the far-right: Germany at a tipping point ? | To the Point

Germany is reckoning the with the results of regional elections that have many questioning whether German history is rearing its ugly head.

For the first time since Nazi rule, right-wing extremists have won a regional election in Germany - in the small eastern state of Thuringia.

The Alternative for Germany party (AfD) also came in second place in neighboring Saxony. Other populists also snapped up votes by promising to stop immigration and arms deliveries to Ukraine.

So what does this mean for the future of Europe's largest economy, and its relation to the world?

This week on To The Point we’re looking at "The rise of the far-right. Is Germany at a tipping point?"
Our guests:
Wolfgang Merkel, Political scientist.
Matthew Karnitschnig, POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent.
Nadine Lindner, correspondent in Deutschlandradio’s Berlin bureau.

01:40 AfD platform focuses on stopping both migration and arms deliveries to Ukraine
02:50 Taboo was broken when AfD joined German parliament years ago
04:00 In 15 EU countries, right-wing populists are already part of governments
06:00 The AfD’s success is very closely tied to the topic of migration
07:00 AfD is here to stay, has a strategy of damaging the CDU
08:30 Why is the AfD so successful?
09:50 There are certain similarities between BSW and AfD
10:20 BSW partly resembles the Socialist Party in Denmark, except for on migration
11:20 BSW wants to freeze the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
13:50 Thuringia & Saxony have almost no “foreigners” living there; just 8%
14:40 CDU is getting tougher on migration politics
17:00 Expectations of voters in Saxony and Thuringia
18:23 AfD is here to stay
18:40 Right wing populist parties are successful all over Europe
19:40 The migration topic won’t be solved soon
21:00 Firewalls against the AfD will stand, no coalitions with the party foreseeable
23:15 Can you ignore one-third of voters?
24:30 Large numbers of young people voting AfD
25:00 The AfD certainly is not a follow up to the Nazi NSDAP