"A splendid ruin": the property- and relationship-related misadventures of a couple renovating a house (or rather, a manor house) in the former GDR

Essayist Alexander Grau: “Saying that those who vote for Alternative für Deutschland are not Christian will not win back those who have chosen the far right”. The risks and prospects following the triumph in Saxony-Anhalt

The cause of populism does not lie with European institutions and policies, but rather in the inability of governments and the business community to adopt policies that promote innovation and strengthen the social fabric in order to help the most vulnerable

Symbols, uniforms, battle cries. It is difficult to talk to one another; to convince is impossible. All that remains is to stick together. As crucial elections draw near, politics is turning its back on relativism and heeding the call of the wild

“Ukraine’s resistance? True patriotism. The economy? We’re on the right track. A federal Europe? I disagree with Draghi. The AfD? There’s no need for restrictions. Anti-Semitism? We’re absolutely clear on this.” No alliance with those who vote against Kyiv? “I’m not prepared to do the opposite of what I’ve done so far.” The head of government speaks

Weidel, her Sri Lankan partner and her PhD in Bayreuth; the TikToker, the ‘Prussian Muslim’, the Putin nostalgist. The AfD defies old categories: perhaps simply labelling it ‘far right’ is not enough to understand its success

Recurring analyses suggest that it was men, manual workers, the poor and those with low levels of education who boosted the far-right vote in Saxony-Anhalt. It may well be that they have all become Nazis, but this is probably due to a lack of alternatives. And this is not just the case in Germany

The German party (backed by Salvini) is proposing the de facto transfer of all children with disabilities to special schools. The minister appointed by the Lega, speaking on Radio 24: “I don’t like it. Italy has a long history of inclusion dating back to the 1970s.”

The election in Saxony, the ‘black threat’, is uniting the left, which is gathering today on the stage at Avs in Rome. But within the opposition, analysis of the election results is dividing opinion, whilst the Movement’s close ties to Sahra Wagenknecht come to mind – ties that could now lend a hand to the AfD.