Far-right parties are on the rise across Europe.

Germany’s recent federal election saw a dramatic and concerning rise in support for the Alternative für Deutschland, or AfD, a far-right party that is considered a right-wing extremist organization and a threat to democracy. The AfD’s recent campaign was emboldened following endorsements by foreign billionaire Elon Musk and words of support from US Vice President JD Vance.

As European far-right political parties like the AfD grow and build organizational power, the international far-right is increasingly looking across the Atlantic and building bridges with Canadian conservatives and far-right political actors.

On this episode of Sources, Matthias Ecke, a German Member of the European Parliament with the EU’s Socialists and Democrats group, talks to PressProgress Editor Luke LeBrun about the AfD and the threat the far-right poses to democracy.

Additional reading:

• German AfD party labeled ‘extremist’ by intelligence agency  (Deutsche Welle)

• German court finds far-right AfD pursues goals ‘against democracy’ (Reuters)

• German member of the European Parliament ‘seriously injured’ in Dresden assault (Politico Europe)

• Why are attacks  and incitement on the rise in Germany? (Der Spiegel)

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