Far right German party touts major victory over Merkel

A young, hard-right German political party made major inroads this weekend in a state election, and outperformed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party in her own backyard.

“The three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won 21 to 22 percent of votes in the election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” the Associated Press reported.

AfD’s victory comes in a region that is home to Merkel’s “political base,” it said.

National AfD leader Frauke Petry called their showing in the polls Sunday “a blow to Angela Merkel.” Local AfD leader Leif-Erik Holm added in a note to supporters that, “Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship today.”

AfD is considered a nationalist group, and one of its main goals is to toughen immigration policy, especially as the country continues to admit immigrants from the Middle East.

Germany registered more than 1 million refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East in 2015.

Political analysts suggest recent gains for groups like AfD stems from Merkel’s embracing of looser immigration controls, and her failure to address recent immigrant-related terrorist attacks and sexual assaults.

The country’s media “put support for Merkel’s Christian Democrats between 19 and 20 percent, their worst result yet in the state,” AP claimed, adding, “The center-left Social Democrats, who led the outgoing state government, were the strongest party with about 30 percent support.”

AfD is not the only far right party openly challenging their country’s current leadership in Europe.

In France, National Front’s Marine Le Pen promised Saturday that she’d lead a United Kingdom-style exit from the European Union if she is elected president next year.

“I will do it in France,” she said, and lauded the U.K. politicians who had “the courage to choose their destiny” by choosing to exit the EU.

Like AfD, Le Pen’s party is pro-strict immigration reform and extremely wary of accepting refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East.

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