Nina Haase

Germany's economy is very sluggish at the moment. And these were the core topics that the conservatives focused on and won.

The AFD is called Alternative for Germany. That's the name that they've given themselves. They're a fairly young party. They were founded just over 10 years ago. They started off on a platform that was EU skeptic, that wanted to get out of the Euro, the common currency that we have here in Europe. And over the years, they have radicalized.

The AFD is called Alternative for Germany. That's the name that they've given themselves. They're a fairly young party. They were founded just over 10 years ago. They started off on a platform that was EU skeptic, that wanted to get out of the Euro, the common currency that we have here in Europe. And over the years, they have radicalized.

The AFD is called Alternative for Germany. That's the name that they've given themselves. They're a fairly young party. They were founded just over 10 years ago. They started off on a platform that was EU skeptic, that wanted to get out of the Euro, the common currency that we have here in Europe. And over the years, they have radicalized.

They have gone from being an economy-focused, financial policy-focused party to being an anti-immigrant, pro-Russia, pro-China party. And that is something where lots of people here in Germany are saying this would shake up the fundamental pillars of of the liberal democratic system that we have here in this country. They are under observation by Germany's intelligence agencies.

They have gone from being an economy-focused, financial policy-focused party to being an anti-immigrant, pro-Russia, pro-China party. And that is something where lots of people here in Germany are saying this would shake up the fundamental pillars of of the liberal democratic system that we have here in this country. They are under observation by Germany's intelligence agencies.

They have gone from being an economy-focused, financial policy-focused party to being an anti-immigrant, pro-Russia, pro-China party. And that is something where lots of people here in Germany are saying this would shake up the fundamental pillars of of the liberal democratic system that we have here in this country. They are under observation by Germany's intelligence agencies.

They have people in their ranks that have very close ties to the Kremlin. They have a leading figure in the east of the country who is a history teacher, but says that Germany needs to move on and stop this whining about this short period of time when this thing called the Holocaust happens.

They have people in their ranks that have very close ties to the Kremlin. They have a leading figure in the east of the country who is a history teacher, but says that Germany needs to move on and stop this whining about this short period of time when this thing called the Holocaust happens.

They have people in their ranks that have very close ties to the Kremlin. They have a leading figure in the east of the country who is a history teacher, but says that Germany needs to move on and stop this whining about this short period of time when this thing called the Holocaust happens.

And that is, of course, something that has made a lot of alarm bells ring here in Germany, given our history, where many people feel reminded of just how quickly populism can lead to real life fascism. Having said all that, the AFD say of themselves that they are libertarian conservative. They got a big push in this election campaign by Elon Musk.

And that is, of course, something that has made a lot of alarm bells ring here in Germany, given our history, where many people feel reminded of just how quickly populism can lead to real life fascism. Having said all that, the AFD say of themselves that they are libertarian conservative. They got a big push in this election campaign by Elon Musk.

And that is, of course, something that has made a lot of alarm bells ring here in Germany, given our history, where many people feel reminded of just how quickly populism can lead to real life fascism. Having said all that, the AFD say of themselves that they are libertarian conservative. They got a big push in this election campaign by Elon Musk.

He held an hour-long chat with their co-leader Alice Weidel and gave them a lot of visibility on his own platforms.

He held an hour-long chat with their co-leader Alice Weidel and gave them a lot of visibility on his own platforms.

He held an hour-long chat with their co-leader Alice Weidel and gave them a lot of visibility on his own platforms.

So they have definitely benefited from that. They've also managed to be very present in market squares. So they're very visible. They're very good at describing problems. They haven't offered many workable solutions when you look at the details in their programs. But what they've also done is they've convinced a lot of working class people to vote for them instead of the social democrats. Wow.

So they have definitely benefited from that. They've also managed to be very present in market squares. So they're very visible. They're very good at describing problems. They haven't offered many workable solutions when you look at the details in their programs. But what they've also done is they've convinced a lot of working class people to vote for them instead of the social democrats. Wow.

So they have definitely benefited from that. They've also managed to be very present in market squares. So they're very visible. They're very good at describing problems. They haven't offered many workable solutions when you look at the details in their programs. But what they've also done is they've convinced a lot of working class people to vote for them instead of the social democrats. Wow.

They're now the second strongest political group in the parliament. And that means that they have certain privileges when it comes to politics. appointing the chairpeople of the committees, for example. So traditionally, the biggest opposition group, which is in this case the AFD, they lead the budget committee, so they can influence the agenda of committee meetings.