Historic election for Germany’s far-right AfD

Following an historic election in Germany, the AfD is set to enter parliament not only for the first time, but as the third strongest party. It’s also the first time a far-right political party has entered the Bundestag since the end of the Second World War. The AfD’s popularity has surged amid Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door migration policy, which saw around a million migrants enter Germany in 2015 alone. After the exit polls were announced, AfD lead candidate Alice Weidel promised a parliamentary inquiry into Merkel. “The first thing that we will do in the Bundestag is to initiate a parliamentary inquiry into Angela Merkel”, said party co-chair Alice Weidel. Fellow lead candidate Alexander Gauland added: “As we appear to be the third strongest party, the next government to be formed needs to be prepared: we will chase them, we will hunt down Angela Merkel or whoever, we will chase them.” The party campaigned on a strong anti-immigration platform. It says immigration jeopardises the country’s culture, but denies it is racist or anti-semitic.