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Anti establishment surge unnerves centrists

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The Left won Berlin's state election while the far-right Alternative for Germany won in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, outcomes that signaled an antiestablishment surge and unnerved European centrists.

The Washington Post
Victories by far left and far right show Germans sick of politics as usual

In a striking show of antiestablishment voter sentiment, the Left won in Berlin on the same night that the far-right Alternative for Germany won in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

Reposts 0 1h

by Jussi T. Eronen

3%
jussiteronen.bsky.social
No idea what to make out of this. Cordon Sanitaire is no more in European politics..

www.politico.eu/article/noth...
Nothing ‘to be ashamed of:’ EU’s center-right clashes with Socialists over far-right votes
“On some issues, I think that they are relatively sane,” says top center-right Finnish lawmaker of far-right parties.
www.politico.eu
September 22, 2026 at 5:28 PM

by Jussi T. Eronen

3%
View post

Reposted by Jussi T. Eronen

1%
politico.eu
The center-right European People’s Party won’t rule out voting with the far right to deliver its policy agenda, even as Social Democrats and Liberals increase calls for a centrist coalition deal, according to Finnish EPP delegation chief Mika Aaltola.
Nothing ‘to be ashamed of:’ EU’s center-right clashes with Socialists over far-right votes
“On some issues, I think that they are relatively sane,” says top center-right Finnish lawmaker of far-right parties.
www.politico.eu
September 22, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Politico Europe
Nothing ‘to be ashamed of’: EU center right clashes with Socialists over far-right votes

"On some issues, I think that they are relatively sane, " says top center-right Finnish lawmaker of far-right parties.

Reposts 0 4h
Der Standard
Germany's Merz weakness harms Europe on the world stage

The EU's most powerful country is completely preoccupied with itself. The major victories of the far right and radical left are unsettling partners across Europe.

Germany's Merz weakness harms Europe on the world stage
Reposts 0 5h

by Jan W. Mueller

3%
jwmueller-pu.bsky.social
"...the basic fact remains that only a party that wins fifty percent plus one is entitled to hold power. For another way of reading the result is that a clear majority opted against the far right – ... in light of the fact that other parties had warned of the AfD as a danger to democracy."
Is Germany’s Firewall Collapsing?
Jan-Werner Mueller explains how—and how not—to interpret the far right’s recent victories in state elections.
www.project-syndicate.org
September 22, 2026 at 2:59 PM

Reposted by Zaki Laïdi

6%
Project Syndicate
Post-Liberal Europe?

Another victory for the far right in a German state election has confirmed European liberals' worst fears. With many critical European elections approaching in 2027, debates about the proper limits of popular sovereignty and other fundamental tenets of liberalism are now of paramount importance

Post-Liberal Europe?
Reposts 0 6h

by Nicholas Marsh

1%
nicholasmarsh.bsky.social
Our @europeansecurity.bsky.social special issue on rearming Europe examines the political, economic and institutional consequences of that shift across the EU and beyond. All the articles are free access or open access until the end of October. www.tandfonline.com/toc/feus20/3...
European Security
Arming Europe – reconceptualising European defence production. Volume 35, Issue 3 of European Security
www.tandfonline.com
September 22, 2026 at 12:32 PM

Reposted by Stefanie Walter

22%
cepr.org
@jafrieden.bsky.social & @stefwalter.bsky.social argue that Europe's problem is political: there is no consensus among member states about how far and how fast to integrate. Rather than waiting, Europe should move in coalitions in areas of high payoff and high political friction.
ow.ly/iECq50ZQ5OU
The EU was built for a rules-based, Western-led international order that now looks like a relic. Writing for CEPR's Europe 2050 series, Jeffry Frieden (Columbia) and Stefanie Walter (University of Zurich and Bruegel) argue that Europe's problem in confronting an adversarial United States, an assertive China and a hostile Russia is not primarily economic but political: there is no consensus among member states, or within them, about how far and how fast to integrate. Drawing on survey data spanning the Eurozone crisis and party positions across the EU27, they show that political feasibility varies enormously by issue, from near-unanimous support for expanding the ESM to near-universal rejection of Commission pre-approval of national budgets, and that this feasibility rarely lines up with where the economic payoff from integration is largest. Their answer is differentiated integration: rather than waiting for unanimity, Europe should let coalitions of the willing move first in areas of high payoff and high political friction, such as a European safe asset or joint defence of the eastern border, while leaving areas like welfare or education policy at the national level and treating others, from grid integration to joint procurement, as low-hanging fruit. They point to Schengen's evolution from five founding members to near-universal EU membership as the template: a successful club creates its own momentum, making it increasingly costly for holdouts to stay outside. Beyond institutional design, they argue Europe's leaders need three habits it currently lacks: crafting reforms with built-in flexibility and lock-in effects rather than one-size-fits-all treaties, being honest with voters about the genuine trade-offs of compromises rather than pretending them away, and communicating in language citizens can actually parse, given that Commission press releases are, on average, harder to read than academic journal abstracts.
September 22, 2026 at 12:13 PM

by Christian Odendahl Reposted by Dietmar Fehr

26%
codendahl.bsky.social
But the key chart for the current debate around The Left is this: different forms of #antisemitism by political leanings (far left to far right) *in Berlin*.

It is, frankly, shocking.
September 22, 2026 at 10:13 AM

Reposted by Ruth Dassonneville

30%
scilove.bsky.social
🔥 Trending on SciLove today 🔥

🔬 Voters’ perceptions of ideologically inconsistent parties
👤 Dassonneville et al., 2026
📖 West European Politics @wepsocial.bsky.social

🔗 https://www.scilove.app/article/10.1080/01402382.2026.2725847

#PoliSci #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter
🔥 Trending today: Voters’ perceptions of ideologically inconsistent parties (Dassonneville et al., 2026) - 22/09/26
Citizens like political parties less when they perceive them as ideologically inconsistent, independent of policy disagreement. 🗳️ 🤔 📉
www.scilove.app
September 22, 2026 at 9:30 AM

by John Quiggin

4%
johnquiggin.bsky.social
The European far-right has seen some big losses lately
The European far-right has seen some big losses lately
Part 1 of 2
substack.com
September 22, 2026 at 7:02 AM
Le Monde
Is the far-right really gaining ground everywhere in Europe?

For a long time marginalized after World War II, the far right has reemerged as a key electoral force in the European political landscape. But is this surge as broad as it seems? An overview of its scores, advances and retreats.

Is the far-right really gaining ground everywhere in Europe?
Reposts 0 17h
El Pais
The new political axis in Catalonia

The winds sweeping across Europe suggest that the next elections will pit European democrats against neo-fascists.

The new political axis in Catalonia
Reposts 0 17h
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