Angela Merkel secured a fourth term as chancellor in Sunday’s elections, but her victory was overshadowed by a far-right surge that will put an openly racist party into the center of German politics for the first time since World War II and sent shockwaves across the European continent and beyond.
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) garnered more than 13 percent of the vote, according to preliminary returns — a result that bested even its highest score in pre-election polls and put a far-right party in parliament for the first time in the country’s postwar history.
Though Merkel secured another term, her center-right bloc recorded its worst result since 1949, winning around 33 percent of the vote, down from over 41 percent in 2013.
“We don’t need to beat around the bush,” Merkel told supporters at party headquarters Sunday evening. “We wanted a better result, that is clear.”
Photos: World’s fattest woman Eman Abdul Atti dies in Abu Dhabi this a.m.
Large congratulations to her o!
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