The far right is on the cusp of winning the most votes in German state elections for the first time since the Nazis.
For some in Germany, the rise of Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a literal nightmare.
But others, particularly in the east, say the AfD is a chance for change.
All year, the temperature has been rising in German politics and Sunday’s vote in Thuringia and Saxony may be the boiling point.
“Liar!” shouted a small group of people in Thuringia this week, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz took the stage in the city of Jena.
Chants of “Volksverräter” also punctured through the wider applause; a phrase that means “traitor of the people” and is seen by many as having Nazi connotations.
Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, along with his Green and Liberal coalition partners, are doing so badly in Thuringia they may not even get a single seat in the state parliament – while the AfD is polling top.
In neighbouring Saxony, the AfD is running neck and neck with the conservative CDU.
Last week’s knife attack, in which a Syrian asylum seeker and suspected Islamist is accused of killing three people, has fuelled fierce criticism of how successive governments have handled migration.
A hasty – you could even say panicked – response has seen ministers announce tougher asylum and knife crime laws.
But it’s unlikely to overturn a broader discontent that – for many AfD supporters – isn’t just based on anger about “mass” immigration.
People also talk of wanting to fight what they see as over-zealous green policies, state interference and ill-advised military support for Ukraine.
Read more at BBC.com
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