标签： Europe

On Sunday, voters across Saxony-Anhalt, an eastern German state home to 2.1 million people just west of Berlin, headed to the polls for a state legislative election that carries historic ramifications for modern German politics. This vote stands as the most promising opportunity to date for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the nation’s far-right, anti-immigration opposition party, to claim its first state governorship — a milestone that would mark the first far-right regional government in Germany since the end of World War II.

The election comes amid a period of deep public dissatisfaction with Germany’s unpopular national ruling coalition, which has failed to convince voters it can reverse the country’s ongoing sluggish economic growth. A win for the AfD here would deliver more than just a historic first for the 13-year-old party: it would also be a symbolic body blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has held control of Saxony-Anhalt for the past 24 years.

As the largest opposition party in Germany’s federal parliament, the AfD has built its strongest base of support in the formerly communist, economically disadvantaged eastern states, where Saxony-Anhalt is located. The party’s gubernatorial candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has openly declared that “we will write history here” as the AfD pushes to win an absolute majority in the state legislature.

An absolute majority would allow the AfD to bypass the long-standing “firewall” policy among Germany’s mainstream political parties, which have uniformly refused to enter any governing coalition or power-sharing agreement with the AfD. Notably, the Saxony-Anhalt branch of the AfD is one of several regional party chapters classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist group by Germany’s domestic intelligence service — an allegation the party has forcefully denied.

In a joint statement earlier this week, the AfD’s national co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla defended the party’s policy agenda. They argued the AfD “wants to implement the law of the land — for example with a view to illegal migration — and ensure that Germany remains worth living in.” The pair criticized the governing record of mainstream parties, framing an absolute AfD majority as “almost the only chance to change course” for the region and the country.

Chancellor Merz has already warned that an AfD-led regional government would be a self-defeating move for Saxony-Anhalt’s economy. “If there were to be an absolute majority for a right-wing populist party next Monday, then international investors will think three times about whether they still invest in Saxony-Anhalt,” he said. Ahead of voting day, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Magdeburg, the state capital, to rally against the prospect of a far-right regional administration.

Despite consistent polling showing strong AfD support, the party’s path to power remains uncertain even if it outperforms all other contenders by a wide margin. Siegmund has stated he will only pursue the governorship if the AfD secures an absolute majority, arguing that this outcome is the only way to avoid the pattern of broken pre-election campaign promises that has plagued multi-party coalitions in the region. If the AfD falls short of a full majority, analysts agree the party is extremely unlikely to find any willing coalition partner among mainstream parties.

The final outcome of the election could also become far more complicated depending on whether smaller opposition parties clear the 5% popular vote threshold required to earn seats in the state legislature. The center-left Social Democrats and the Green Party are both considered at risk of falling short of this cutoff, which would reshape the seat distribution and any potential coalition negotiations.

The incumbent CDU governor, Sven Schulze, has echoed mainstream party policy, confirming he will never enter a governing arrangement with the AfD and stating that his own party stands “100%” behind his leadership. Even so, if the AfD wins the most seats but fails to secure an absolute majority, Schulze will face a major challenge in assembling a stable governing coalition.

This scenario is not without precedent: just two years ago, the AfD finished first in a state election in neighboring Thuringia, but was unable to form a government, and a CDU governor took power via a minority administration. Schulze could attempt a similar arrangement by forming a loose alliance with smaller parties, but this would be a precarious undertaking. Any minority government would almost certainly require at least tacit backing from The Left Party, a hard-left group the CDU has explicitly ruled out working with.

This election is just the first of three major electoral tests facing Merz’s CDU and its national coalition partner, the Social Democrats, in the coming weeks. Two more state elections will be held on September 20: one in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, another eastern German state where the incumbent center-left government is facing a strong challenge from the AfD, and a second in the capital city of Berlin, which is currently governed by the CDU. Political observers across Germany and across Europe are watching the results closely, as a historic AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt would signal a major political shift in the country’s post-Cold War political landscape.

This week, a landmark and deeply divisive vote will take place in Odesa — Ukraine’s third-largest city, positioned on the country’s strategic Black Sea coast — to decide whether to enact sweeping new restrictions on the use of Russian in public arts and cultural spaces. The proposal under consideration by local city councillors would expand existing national-level restrictions on Russian, a measure that carries unique weight in a city where the vast majority of residents speak Russian as their first language. Critically, the draft legislation would only impact content and communication in public spaces, leaving private, everyday use of Russian completely untouched.

For millions of Ukrainians across the country, Russian is a native mother tongue, including for many frontline soldiers currently defending Ukrainian territory against Russia’s full-scale invasion. But Ukrainian holds status as the country’s only official state language, spoken by a national majority, and for many Ukrainians, Russian is seen as an instrument of ongoing Russian political and cultural influence. Even amid daily Russian drone and missile strikes that have devastated parts of the city, Odesa’s councillors are moving forward with the plan, which calls for a full removal of Russian-language content from public spaces including streets, parks, government institutions, and state-managed arts and entertainment venues. The proposal also includes a non-binding recommendation to extend the ban to privately owned public-facing spaces.

As a city long celebrated for its rich legacy of Russian-language literature, music and cultural production, the proposal has sparked fierce, impassioned debate across Odesa. If approved, the ban would even apply to beloved classic Odesa folk songs that have been widely known across the former Soviet Union for generations. In public libraries, all Russian-language books would be pulled from public display; under current rules, these works can be shown but not featured prominently.

Supporters of the ban frame it as a critical step in dismantling lingering Russian colonial influence over Ukrainian identity. Artem Kartashov, an Odesa-based lawyer who has advised local officials on a formal program to decolonize the city’s historic Russian cultural legacy, argues that Russian itself functions as a tool of Russian state power. “With Russian-speaking music and other things, Russians try to deconstruct Ukrainian identity and influence especially young people, because they grow up in a Russian-speaking environment,” Kartashov explained.

But opponents warn the ban divides Ukrainians who all share a deep commitment to defending their country, and erases a shared cultural heritage that transcends modern political conflict. Borys Barsky, one of Odesa’s most prominent comedic actors and the head of the city’s Mask Theatre, argues that the language is far more than a weapon of the Kremlin. “Russian isn’t [only] the language of Putin, it’s the language of [writers like] Dostoyevsky and Bulgakov,” Barsky said. “Who benefits from setting people against other people who love Ukraine just as deeply, only love it in a different language? Only Putin benefits from this.”

This debate comes amid context that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly and falsely cited the purported repression of Russian-speaking minorities in Ukraine as a core justification for his illegal 2022 full-scale invasion. Russian and Ukrainian are closely related but linguistically distinct; many Ukrainians regularly speak a mixed dialect of the two languages known as surzhyk. Notably, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a native Russian speaker, who relied heavily on the language during his 2019 election campaign but has since exclusively used Ukrainian for all public appearances.

National language policy has been shifting in Ukraine for years: a 2019 national law already mandates the use of Ukrainian in the vast majority of public and professional settings, including education, public administration, and customer service. Under the existing law, all public-facing workers from waiters to retail staff to doctors are required to greet clients and patients in Ukrainian first, though they may switch to Russian if the customer requests it. Barsky’s Mask Theatre has already been fined multiple times for violating these national rules, including for using Russian in promotional materials and keeping a cafe sign printed with the Russian word for coffee. Barsky has dismissed the enforcement as senseless, saying “This isn’t even like Orwell or Kafka, it’s just madness.” He has been allowed to continue performing in Russian for private audiences, as the current law does not restrict private performances.

The new Odesa proposal mirrors similar restrictions already implemented in Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities. While the ban is not legally enforceable for private businesses and venues, Odesa’s official state-appointed language ombudswoman Anna Nerush, who conducts inspections for alleged language rule violations, says the proposal will create informal pressure for compliance. “All businesses interact in one way or another with local government. They rent premises, they need advertising permits, and so on. So for many entities it’s important to comply with a council decision, even if it doesn’t provide for sanctions for non-compliance,” Nerush explained.

Current national rules already ban public performances of songs by Russian citizens, with narrow exceptions for artists who have publicly condemned the invasion. Russian-language songs created or performed by Ukrainians are currently still permitted, but the new Odesa proposal would extend the ban to these works as well. Nerush emphasized that the ban would not target private conversation: a guest celebrating a birthday in Russian in a closed private restaurant room would not face any penalties, as the speech would not be audible to the general public. “But on the streets, [hearing] the Russian language can be a real trigger, for example to [former] prisoners of war and people who’ve come from occupied territories,” she noted.

In the years leading up to and especially following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, many native Russian-speaking Ukrainians have voluntarily made the switch to Ukrainian. Natalia Mykhailenko, an Odesa-based photographer, switched decades ago and now leads public walking tours that highlight the city’s under-told non-Russian history, including landmarks like a Cossack cemetery that predates 1794 — the year Russian Empress Catherine the Great is traditionally credited with founding Odesa, a narrative that has been widely challenged by Ukrainian historians in recent years. Following a 2022 city council vote, a prominent statue of Catherine was removed from central Odesa’s main square, and dozens of streets have been renamed to honor Ukrainian writers and activists. “We must understand we were a colony,” Mykhailenko said. “And these [language] laws are very important. I understand it’s maybe sometimes not democratic. But without it, there will be no normal Ukraine in the future.”

Critics of the expanding restrictions, however, argue the policies undermine the very values of freedom and liberty that Ukraine is fighting to defend against Russian authoritarianism. Anthropologist Anastasia Piliavsky, a member of Ukrainian Cosmopolis, an organization that advocates for freedom of thought and speech in the country, says the policies push native Russian-speaking Ukrainians to be treated as second-class citizens stripped of their cultural heritage. “In Ukraine, the vast majority of people understand both Russian and Ukrainian. So the question is not really one of language, it’s one of liberty,” Piliavsky said. “Ukraine has been fighting for freedom. The point of this war is not to be under authoritarian rule. That’s what Russia has to offer. So when fines, or the threat of being fired [for breaking language laws] arrives, then people start wondering: what are we fighting for?”

As of this week, the level of support for the proposal among Odesa’s councillors remains unclear. The plan is openly opposed by an influential bloc of councillors tied to former Odesa mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov. Looking at broader national attitudes, a 2022 national poll found that 80% of Ukrainians supported Ukrainian becoming the dominant language in all spheres of public communication. Yet a more recent survey of Kyiv university students found that 82% still chose to speak Russian during informal break times, despite mandatory Ukrainian use in classrooms.

One high-profile Odesa resident who has found himself at the center of the national language debate is Pavlo Viktor, a physics teacher whose free online lessons have amassed millions of followers across the globe. Ukrainian language advocates initially criticized Viktor for publishing his lessons in Russian, his native language, though he later released Ukrainian-language versions. He faced additional backlash after saying he would speak to scared children in Russian during missile attacks if that was the language that made them feel most comfortable. Viktor advocates for a gradual, voluntary approach to expanding Ukrainian use across the country. Currently, only around 10% of Odesa residents speak Ukrainian in public street settings, Viktor noted. “But if we wait 50 years, maybe 90% will speak Ukrainian,” he said. “Ukrainianisation must be polite and soft… not to persuade children to move from Russian to Ukrainian, but to make an atmosphere when they want to do this. It’s the best way. And I hope that gradually we’ll move in that direction.”

THESSALONIKI, Greece – As Greece’s ruling conservative administration readies for a pivotal 2024 general election, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a €2 billion ($2.3 billion) package of broad tax cuts and wage increases – a plan rolled out even as more than 25,000 protesters gathered in Thessaloniki Saturday to decry the country’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Mitsotakis delivered the policy pledge during his annual state-of-the-economy address in Greece’s northern port city, framing the new measures as the long-awaited payoff for years of fiscal recovery after the nation’s crippling decade-long financial crisis. “Our country has pulled itself out of economic stagnation, and now it is time for Greeks to reap the rewards of our collective hard work,” the prime minister said. “As our economy stabilizes, we will deliver relief from crippling taxation, higher household incomes, and far-reaching structural reforms.”

The public appearance came with heightened security: more than 3,000 police officers were deployed across Thessaloniki, closing central streets and subway stations near the speech venue to manage large-scale demonstrations organized by national labor unions and grassroots advocacy groups. Protesters brought agricultural tractors into the city’s downtown core to amplify their demands, drawing attention to widespread financial strain hitting working people and farming communities across the country.

While Greece has posted notable macroeconomic gains in recent years – including a 2.1% GDP growth rate and a federal budget surplus in 2023, alongside steady reductions to its long-standing high public debt – Greek workers retain the lowest purchasing power of any nation in the European Union. “Wages have stagnated while consumer prices continue to skyrocket, and affordability has become the most pressing crisis facing ordinary Greeks,” explained Yiannis Panagopoulos, president of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), Greece’s largest labor federation.

The newly announced support package targets multiple key voter blocs ahead of the expected April election, where Mitsotakis – who has held office since 2019 and is seeking a third consecutive term – will fight to retain control of government. The plan includes tax reductions for self-employed workers, small-scale agricultural producers, and residents of small rural villages, alongside across-the-board salary and benefit increases for public sector employees and retired Greeks.

Current polling indicates that Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party holds a lead over opposition groups but is unlikely to secure an outright parliamentary majority, leaving the outcome of the upcoming vote uncertain. Saturday’s policy event was also overshadowed by tragedy: a Greek fighter jet crashed during an air show near Athens several hours before the speech, killing two elite air force pilots.

Derek Gatopoulos contributed additional reporting from Athens.

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia’s long-ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) formally announced Saturday that incumbent President Aleksandar Vucic will be its nominee for prime minister, should the party secure victory in the upcoming snap parliamentary election. The contest, widely viewed as the most significant political test for Vucic’s administration after more than a year of sustained anti-government street demonstrations, is slated to take place on October 25, though Vucic has not yet officially dissolved parliament to formalize the election call.

The early vote comes nearly two years after a fatal concrete canopy collapse at a Novi Sad train station in northern Serbia that killed 16 people. That disaster sparked massive youth-led demonstrations, with protesters arguing that deep-rooted government corruption and administrative incompetence directly enabled the tragedy through shoddy renovation work. Tensions remain high across the country as the ruling party fights to retain control amid sweeping popular discontent: on the same day SNS held its nomination conference in the southern city of Nis, hundreds of anti-government demonstrators marched through the city, with police cordoning off the National Theater to block protesters from accessing the party meeting venue.

Vucic confirmed to party officials Saturday that he will officially call the election in the coming days, after which he will resign from the Serbian presidency to launch his campaign for prime minister. A separate presidential vote will be held at a later date, he added. For Vucic, who has held national power for 14 years, the 12 months of continuous protests have represented the greatest threat to his political control of his career. At their peak, demonstrations drew hundreds of thousands of participants across the country, all demanding accountability for the November 1, 2024 canopy collapse and an end to systemic corruption.

Vucic has taken a hardline stance against the protest movement, drawing international condemnation for reports of excessive police violence and arbitrary detentions of demonstrators. He has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the student and academic organizers behind the protests are plotting to overthrow the Serbian government. He doubled down on these accusations Saturday, claiming the unrest has been orchestrated by foreign actors. “This evil,” Vucic told party delegates, “is not coming from the inside, it is coming from the outside.”

The election will see SNS face off against a broad field of opposition groups. A student-backed coalition consisting of university professors and policy experts is expected to run, though the full list of candidates has not yet been released. Both right-wing and center-left opposition parties will also contest the vote, alongside several smaller political factions.

Tensions around the election have been further heightened by recent revelations that at least 14 Serbian activists and students — including student protest organizers — were targeted with commercial spyware earlier this year. The Belgrade-based nonprofit Share Foundation called the incident the largest documented case of surveillance abuse against political opponents in Serbia to date. Vucic’s administration has rejected the allegations as baseless.

Serbia has been in the European Union accession process for years, but talks have stalled under Vucic’s leadership over documented democratic backsliding, including proven election irregularities in previous national votes. Vucic has also defied EU consensus by refusing to join European sanctions against Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with China throughout his tenure.