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00:00The victory of the far-right AFD party in Germany in crucial state elections has sent

00:08alarm bells ringing throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The fact that this

00:12is the first time since the Nazi era that an extreme right-wing party has had this kind

00:19of success in Germany is something that the world is watching out for. So what explains

00:24the AFD's success? Well, it has partly to do with grievances that the eastern part of

00:31Germany, the erstwhile communist part of Germany, continues to face when it comes to economic

00:36inequality, opportunity, and a perceived sense that they're not really treated as equal citizens.

00:42And the AFD has really been able to seize on that sense of feeling alienated amongst

00:48the population. It's also been able to attract a large number of younger German voters as

00:53well. And it's very strong radical stand against immigration in particular is what

00:58has drawn a lot of people towards the party. Now, the only saving grace is that it hasn't

01:03won enough numbers to actually govern. And other parties in Germany are extremely wary

01:10of entering into any kind of coalition with the far-right or even the far-left. So that

01:16might be small consolation. But the fact is that the AFD does have enough numbers in the

01:21state legislature to block a very important appointment, such as the important appointments

01:26of security officials and judges and other important legislation. And that in itself

01:31has a big fallout. Also, we've seen another party in Germany, the extreme left rise in

01:38these elections as well and do better than many people expected. And the fact that you

01:43have these two extreme parties, both of which have a very strong immigration or anti-immigration

01:48stand in the fray means that the most centrist parties have had to modify their position

01:54and take a more hard line on issues such as immigration. And we're already seeing that

01:58fallout in Germany with new tougher laws on immigration being brought in and deportations

02:04also picking up as a result of this. So this is something that both Germany and Europe

02:10will have to keep a close eye on because right now the far-right is surging but not quite

02:17succeeding. Is it enough to stop them in the end?