Far-right AfD’s victory triggers fear of a return to the past in Germany

Berlin couple considers moving west due to far-right party's rise in post-WWII Germany, fearing safety for their child.

Nicki Kämpf watched her daughter toddle across the sand in a Berlin playground and wondered whether she and her wife should move their 1 1/2-year-old west, after Alternative for Germany became the first far-right party to win a state election in post-World War II Germany.

Ms. Kämpf, 29, and her wife discussed a backup plan as Sunday's election results came in. They're concerned that a gay couple and their child might not be safe in the future if parties like Alternative for Germany, or AfD, gain more power in the formerly communist and less prosperous eastern states.

Even though they live in the liberal city of Berlin, Kämpf was scared the far-right's power could spread. She's especially worried because the paperwork to formally adopt her daughter is still pending — and could be for another year or more.

“I don't think I would be able to adopt her if they're in power,” Ms. Kämpf told The Associated Press on Monday. “I don’t want to bring her up in a hostile environment.”

The couple talked about a possible move west to Cologne — “people there are really open-minded” — but Kämpf is reluctant to take their daughter far from the toddler's 91-year-old great-great-grandmother and other family in Thuringia and neighboring Saxony.

AfD won its state election in Thuringia on Sunday under one of its hardest-right figures, Björn Höcke. In Saxony, the party finished only just behind the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union, which leads the national opposition.

Deep discontent with a national government notorious for infighting, inflation and a weak economy, anti-immigration sentiment and skepticism toward German military aid for Ukraine are among the factors that contributed to support for populist parties. A new party founded by a prominent leftist was the second big winner on Sunday — and will probably be needed to form state governments since no one is prepared to govern with AfD.