Europe

AfD top candidates Alexander Gauland, left, and Alice Weidel celebrate with their supporters during the election party of the nationalist Alternative for Germany, in Berlin, Sunday, after the polling stations for the parliament elections closed.

Politics & Government

Germany's Political Earthquake: Making Sense Of The Right Shift In Elections

10:46pm September 24, 2017

by Simon Schuetz

"We will hunt Chancellor Merkel. We will bring our county and our nation back," AfD leader Alexander Gauland told a cheering crowd of supporters. Is this a foretaste of the new tone in the parliament?

Even though German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party came in first in Sunday's parliamentary election, she said she "would have preferred a better result."

Right-Wing Party Makes Strong Showing in German Elections

6:09pm September 24, 2017

Early poll results from Sunday's vote show the AfD had the best showing for a far-right party in decades, taking third place.

World News

Angela Merkel Wins German Election, But Right-Wing Party Gains Seats In Parliament

5:30pm September 24, 2017

Exit polls from Germany show Chancellor Angela Merkel winning another term, but her party did not do as well as expected — and a right-wing party won seats in Parliament for the first time.

German Chancellor and Christian Democrat Angela Merkel appears to have lost some support because of her refugee policy that allowed more than a million asylum seekers into the country since 2015.

Angela Merkel Wins Mandate For 4th Term Despite Diluted Support

4:34pm September 24, 2017

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Preliminary results show German voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel a mandate for a fourth term, but with far fewer votes than needed for her to govern without forming a coalition.

World News

Voters Head To The Polls In Germany

8:02am September 24, 2017

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Voters in Germany are expected to elect Chancellor Angela Merkel to a fourth term, but a new right-wing party may gain more influence.

World News

Catalans Push Ahead On Independence Referendum

8:02am September 24, 2017

Catalans are determined to hold an independence referendum, despite Spanish efforts to stop it. Anna Arque of the ICEC tells NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro why she thinks the vote should go forward.

Far-Right German Group Sees Last-Minute Bump In Polls Before Sunday's Election

7:25pm September 23, 2017

by Simon Schuetz

All indicators in Sunday's elections point to an easy fourth-term win for Chancellor Merkel, but the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is expected to enter Parliament for the first time.

Queue Listen Now

Mohammed Eh'tai fled Syria a couple of years ago at the height of the migrant crisis. He has been reunited with wife Rawah, holding a doll that is one of the only items from their old life in Syria, and their daughter Rimas.

World News

On The Eve Of A National Election, Germans Continue To Grapple With Identity

4:09pm September 23, 2017

by Rachel Martin

German voters will most likely re-elect the same woman who has led Germany for the past 12 years. The question of German identity, however, could remain at the center of political debate.

A poster in Essen showing women in traditional German dress promotes the far-right party Alternative for Germany. The poster says, "Colorful variety? We have already."

In German Election, Campaign Posters Are More Important Than TV Ads

3:31pm September 23, 2017

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

The poster tradition dates back hundreds of years and serves as an equalizer in modern-day German elections. But some of today's messaging has been provocative to the point of causing offense.

The caskets of slain mother and daughter Orouba and Halla Barakat are prepared for the funeral Saturday in Istanbul.

World News

Mother And Daughter Who Opposed Bashar Assad Regime Killed In Turkey

1:42pm September 23, 2017

by Ruth Sherlock

Police found the bodies of Orouba Barakat and her daughter, Halla, a U.S. citizen, in their Istanbul apartment. Their deaths have left family and the wider dispersed Syrian community in fear.