Germany: AfD to keep shaping policy from the sidelines

The Alternative für Deutschland’s continued rise in the polls has been accompanied by renewed calls for mainstream German parties to abandon their “firewall” policy. But as long as the AfD clings on to some of its most extreme views and members it is likely to remain excluded from national government. That said, its popularity has already affected the government’s stance on migration and the green transition. And it will continue to make governing coalitions more fragile and less likely to implement reforms.