Far Right Snuffed in German Elections
Last week the German federal election resulted in a victory for the CDU (conservative party) ahead of the far-right party, the AfD. The defeat of the AfD has been celebrated as a victory for European politics by centre and left parties, despite growing far right support across the world.
Many analysts predicted a major gain for AfD, due to the nationalistic trends over the last 4 years, and they were correct as the AfD doubled its position, securing 20.8% of the electoral votes.
The voting spread shows that the AfD had a complete landslide in Eastern Germany with the CDU holding urban centres and the west.
The AfD has seen a spike in support over recent years mainly due to immigration, which has been a major European issue and a focal point for far-right groups across the continent. They have utilised the recent terror attacks like the Magdeburg incident, that led to 6 deaths and 299 injuries, to incite fear among German voters.
Although not all these attacks were directly related to immigration, the AfD have claimed that they are all a result of the influx of migrants in Germany.
Although their rapid increase in popularity is concerning, the other parties within the German system refuse to collaborate with the AfD, creating an ideological barrier known as the ‘firewall’.
Furthermore, in 2024 a judge denied the AfD’s appeal to rescind their classification as a suspected far-right extremist organisation. The far-right in Germany, have been at the forefront of their political scene recently, however they are still being held back by the centralist and left parties and will not be in power for the rest of the decade.
US pulls out of Ukraine deal
Trump’s recent peace talks fell apart in a matter of hours, after his meeting with Ukrainian president Zelensky turned sour. Trump had promised to ‘solve’ the Russo-Ukrainian war at the beginning of his term and with very little negotiation experience, proposed a treaty to Ukraine this week.
However, many critics highlighted that the proposal was very pro-Russian, allowing Russia to keep their land gained during the war and Ukraine handing over 50% of its natural resources to the US.
Since the previous administration had supported Ukraine both economically and militarily, it came as quite a surprise to see this U-turn in policy.
The heated debate in the White House became very bizarre as it progressed, with JD Vance suggesting Zelensky was ungrateful for military aid and a reporter asking why Zelensky was not wearing a suit.
Trump himself declared that the Ukrainian president was ‘Gambling with World War Three’ and berated him for his appeals.
Following the bullying of a head of state Trump announced that the US would be suspending all foreign aid to Ukraine considering these failed negotiations. This decision caused outrage in Washington from the democrats and was controversial enough to even split republican support.
Although US aid was vital for Ukraine’s war effort, Trump’s Russian appeasement was, to all Ukrainians, the worse of the two options. It is clear now that Trump’s plans to stop wars, focus on allowing invading countries to take over the victim’s land instead of peaceful and balanced intervention.
Trouble in Paradise for Reform
The Reform party entered an open civil war this week as influential MP Rupert Lowe came under fire for bullying allegations, describing it as a ‘stab in the back’.
Lowe’s allegations come from two women within his parliamentary office and have been taken very seriously by both the Chair and Party Whip. Lowe denied all claims, however the party stated that the investigation around misconduct had been handed over to the police, as of Friday.
This comes at a critical time for the Reform party as internal divisions have been boiling towards a peak. Earlier this year, Elon Musk had stated that he would only fund Reform if Rupert Lowe became leader, dropping his previous support for Nigel Farage.
Lowe and Farage have since been battling it out for party control, with Lowe calling Farage ‘Messianic’ and Farage responding by stating he was responsible for Lowe’s election success.
As the petty squabbling continues within the party, Farage’s master plan to bring Reform into mainstream politics has hit another hurdle. Although the party has seen a rise of support in opinion polls, failure to unite the party under one banner has caused an internal conundrum that may be hard to spin.
More information on the investigation will unravel in the coming days, but no matter the outcome the Reform party has taken a major blow from the recent internal conflicts.
That’s all for this week. Be sure to check in soon for more political breakdowns.
