The far right is close to winning a state election for the first time since the second world war. A different economic approach is needed to combat it

The early autumn has become a time of foreboding and angst in German politics. In the eastern states that have become strongholds for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, it has regularly made headline-grabbing advances in September elections. Only the refusal of mainstream politicians to form coalitions with one of Europe’s most extreme movements has kept it out of power.

This year, the lights are flashing red. Next weekend, when voters in Saxony-Anhalt cast their ballots, the signs are that the traditional firewall may not be enough. In polling, the AfD is currently scoring above 40% in the state, which could win it enough seats to govern on its own. Compared with the last election in 2021, its support has doubled; backing for the closest challenger, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has tumbled by almost 15%.

Protester Tess Asplund on the photo that made headlines, and why she sees it as a sign of the change in Sweden today

The striking photograph showed a lone Black woman, her fist raised, standing in the path of hundreds of uniformed neo-Nazis on parade in 2016, and it made headlines across the globe.

At the time, it was held up as a symbol of the resistance to the far right. But 10 years on, as Sweden gears up for elections in which the far right is expected to emerge as the second most-voted-for party, the woman in the photo sees it as a sign of the bewildering change that has gripped the Scandinavian country.

Protester Tess Asplund on the photo that made headlines, and why she sees it as a sign of the change in Sweden today

The striking photograph showed a lone Black woman, her fist raised, standing in the path of hundreds of uniformed neo-Nazis on parade in 2016, and it made headlines across the globe.

At the time, it was held up as a symbol of the resistance to the far right. But 10 years on, as Sweden gears up for elections in which the far right is expected to emerge as the second most-voted-for party, the woman in the photo sees it as a sign of the bewildering change that has gripped the Scandinavian country.

Speech part of effort to strengthen National Rally party’s international ties before Marine Le Pen’s presidential bid

The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella is to give a speech at Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham next week as he attempts to boost international ties before Marine Le Pen’s bid for the French presidency next spring.

Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN) is high in the polls and she is predicted to reach the final round of the French presidential race in May.