After the poison of Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin election could be the antidote

The likely victory of The Left (Die Linke) in Berlin on Sunday (20 September) – and the probable emergence of a Red-Red-Green coalition to govern the capital city of the most powerful player in the EU – has garnered an awful lot less headlines than the grim but not unexpected win for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago. (Actually, there’s one more thing to say about that AfD victory, before we move on. It’s not a consolation, but it is a context which was sadly missing in most international coverage. The population of Saxony-Anhalt is 2.1 million. Only 1.7m of those were eligible voters. The population of Germany is around 83.5 million. That doesn’t minimise the shock of the “first win for the fascist right in Germany’s post-war history etc etc”, but it puts it in some perspective which I saw mentioned in precisely zero of the foreign media.) But back to Berlin. To read this story, log in or subscribeEnjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a subscriber for as low as €1,75 per week.Read without limitsAlready a subscriber? Login