Germany on eve of vote expected to see far-right surge

A lot of my friends are likely going to vote for the conservatives because this government didn't work so well and Merz's international standing is quite good,

said Mike Zeller, 26, a civil servant

I'm completely disappointed in politics, so maybe an alternative would be better,

said retired Berlin bookkeeper Ludmila Ballhorn, 76, who plans to vote AfD, ... adding she was struggling

I'm very confident and, no matter how it turns out, we still have room for improvement,

AfD supporter Julian Adrat, 34, said at a rally of the anti-immigration party Berlin

Friedrich MerzcDU leader

Tomorrow we will win the elections and then the nightmare of this government will be over,

conservative leader Friedrich Merz told a jubilant crowd in Munich

There is no left majority and no left politics anymore in Germany,

Merz told a raucous beer hall, sketching out a plan to curtail benefits, cut red tape and tighten immigration

Friedrich MerzcDU leader

Europe must become stronger again and Germany must become more involved in the European Union,

Merz said

Forming a coalition is likely to be very difficult indeed,

said Jacob Ross, a researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations

I hope we don't slide too far to the right and that we can form a strong counterweight to America,

he said

Nobody expects the AfD to form a government this election,

Busch said

Marina Weisbandgerman author, psychologist and former politician

We think it’s unthinkable that fascism could return to Europe, but it has — it’s here,

said Marina Weisband, a prominent activist, author and psychologist

Marina Weisbandgerman author, psychologist and former politician

The established parties have no answers,

added Weisband, founding director of Aula, a project to strengthen democracy education in German schools

Will the Americans still be there?”

he told the Darmstadt event

I hope that it [the U.S] remains a democracy and does not slide into an authoritarian populist system,

Merz told a campaign event in Darmstadt on Thursday

They have slowly but surely crept up in the opinion polls,

he added

We feel the need to look after everyone’s wellbeing,

says Steffi Klingner-Emmerich, 38

Which we could get if it weren’t for the Brandmauer ... I have little hope this will happen in the next four years but next time round I think they’ll have little choice as the pressure on them will only grow

the car mechanic says, referring to the consensus between parties that they will retain a “firewall” between them and the far-right

When I was a child there were no safety worries when we went to the Christmas market,

says Bernd Katterfeld, 84, whom we meet close to the square where the attack took place

It is very frustrating, but train chaos has increasingly become the norm in recent years.”

Martin is quietly fuming, having experienced four hours of delays on his journey from Aachen

Often there’s a lot of talk about immigrants, but little attempt to speak with them,

Elmedin says

I fear if the AfD comes into power, they will, as they’ve pledged, deport people like me.”

Having received a criminal conviction for what he says was a “prank that went wrong on a school trip” in 2020