Conversations in a Berlin cafe: As the far-right AfD makes unprecedented gains, Germany loses

I was meeting Sofia again after a year. I had first run into her in Vienna. I had been sad when she moved to Berlin to be with her girlfriend and ditch the eight-hour-long train ride she had to take almost every month.

We were seated in a café called Diskreet, where most of the staff were Australian. The café was full and noisy – it was rush hour for an early brunch. As I talked with Sofia about her fears and her hopes, we had to lean toward each other to hear our own conversation.

It is one of the most momentous times in modern Germany and post-war Europe. In the German election held on Sunday, the far-right Alternative for Germany party came in second, shaking the country’s steady commitment to constitutional democracy.

US President Donald Trump has abandoned Europe. He is echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric and has blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion that is now in its third year. His vice president, JD Vance, has criticised European leaders for the supposed erosion of free speech on the Continent and has expressed support for the AfD’s leader, Alice Weidel.

In Sunday’s election, the AfD won 20.8% of the vote. Never before in post-World War II Germany has a far-right party been so...

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