2026-09-04
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) holds a comfortable lead in Saxony-Anhalt state polls ahead of Sunday's election, where a win would make the party the first far-right force to lead a German state government since World War II, according to NPR correspondent Esme Nicholson, reporting from Halle. The AfD's 35-year-old candidate Ulrich Siegmund has built his campaign around TikTok videos made from his back porch, amassing nearly half as many followers as the state has eligible voters. His polished, affable social-media style distinguishes him from other AfD politicians whose messaging tends toward doom and gloom, even as the party's platform backs hard-right immigration positions including mass deportation.
2026-09-02
Germany's export-driven economy — built on cars, locomotives, factory machinery, aircraft and construction equipment — faces serious pressure from Chinese competitors whose goods often match or approach German quality at far lower prices. The trend, which economists call the "China shock," is emerging as a key reason for Germany's chronic economic stagnation since the COVID-19 pandemic. The weak economy has helped make Chancellor Friedrich Merz's governing coalition unpopular ahead of an election Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative for Germany has its best chance yet of getting its first state governor.
2026-08-28
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, is concentrating roughly two-thirds of his post-primary television ad spending on a single spot featuring his white step-grandparents and their Michigan roots, according to data from AdImpact reported by The Wall Street Journal. The 41-year-old former public-health official faces former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in a state President Trump won by 1.4 percentage points in 2024.