Sunday’s elections in Germany are generally considered a serious blow to Chancellor Merkel’s stance on refugees. Her conservative party did not gain majorities in two states, and does have an easy government option in the other one. Meanwhile, the AfD, founded on the basis of criticism of her european policies and incorporating a growing anti-refugee sentiment, entered all three state legislatures with 12 to 24 percent of the vote. However, despite both AfD and Merkel’s CDU being on the right wing of politics, they are not the main competitors in this political shakeup. Continue reading The big loser was not Merkel
