Germany’s political system is set up to exclude extremists. Yet the country is waking up to a new political reality that has lurched to the right with the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party now firmly established in German politics.

German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz appears poised to win the country’s election Sunday, while the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party places second despite making

There is a determination among all of Germany's main parties to keep that block in place - and the German public backs them up: 69% see the AfD as a threat to democracy, according