AI Summary
5 min readIn Magdeburg’s Altes Theater on election night, the mood was ecstatic. When the first exit polls at 6 PM projected the Alternative for Germany (AfD) had won 44% of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt—higher than any opinion poll had forecast—party grandees on stage hugged each other and led the crowd in lusty renditions of German songs and the national anthem. “I don’t think anybody was expecting the score was going to be quite that high,” says Tom Nuttall, The Economist’s Berlin bureau chief, who was at the event. The result marks a stunning advance for a party so extreme that even some other European populist-right organizations refuse to work with it, and it brings Germany closer than it has been since the Second World War to having a right-wing nationalist running a state government.
A body blow to Germany’s postwar identity
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:33) **AFD's Thumping Victory in Saxony-Anhalt** - The Berlin bureau chief reports from the AFD's election night party in Magdeburg after the party wins 44% of the vote, far exceeding expectations.
- 2 (05:46) **The BSW Wildcard and the Path to Power** - A new populist left party, BSW, just barely enters parliament and has not ruled out working with the AFD, potentially enabling a far-right state premier.
- 3 (08:15) **What the Result Means for Germany and Europe** - A 44% vote share for a party deemed "right-wing extremist" by state intelligence is a profound shock to Germany's post-war political identity.
- 4 (11:28) **The Climate Case for Cutting Contrails** - Planetary affairs editor Oliver Morton explains how contrails have a significant warming effect, potentially equal to the carbon dioxide emissions from aviation.
- 5 (14:56) **Operation Blue Skies: Testing Contrail Avoidance** - A large trial over the North Atlantic will test whether planes can safely and routinely fly slightly lower to avoid creating warming contrails.
- 6 (16:37) **Cost and Practicality of the Fix** - Only a tiny fraction of flights (2%) may be responsible for 80% of the contrail warming effect, making the solution surprisingly cheap and targeted.
- 7 (19:59) **Young Koreans Embrace Buddhism** - Across South Korea, Buddhist temples are hosting raves, meditation festivals, and matchmaking events to revive interest in the ancient religion among a generation becoming less religious overall.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Alternative for Germany won an even larger share of the vote than expected in yesterday’s state election. What does the far-right nationalist party’s success mean for Germany and Europe? The climate case for limiting vapour trails from aeroplanes. And why South Korean youths are turning to Buddhism.
Guests and host:
- Tom Nuttall, Berlin bureau chief
- Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor
- Soobin Kim, Korea writer
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- AfD, Alternative for Germany, Alternative für Deutschland
- contrails, aviation, climate science
- South Korea, Buddhism
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