In either case it’s concerning that when the Conservatives fielded their most far-right leader so far, their share of the seats went up.

It’s not surprising at all, the 2 conservative parties in Germany are the most far-right and second most far-right parties. They host politicians who are grandsons and granddaughters of real Nazi SS officers (like the leader of the AfD: Alice Weidel, her grandpa was directly responsible for thousands of civilian deaths as military judge and prosecuter and later chief military judge for Adolf fucking Hitler. They copy their talking points one to one and would love to see people dissappear, who are not looking like them. Conservatives, for the most part, are atrociously far-right.

rooting for you aussies. Love and strength from Germany <3

let me give you a counter argument as a german citizen:

The EU is still a union of a multitude of countries, all pretty different in their approach on geopolitics, economy and security. But we are a union that has brought peace for the longest time Europe ever had uninterupted. We aren’t totally homogenous when it comes to values, but we align each other pretty well. Hungary, Slovakia, at times Poland (although since 2020 their rhetoric has been largely overlooked) are doing their best blocking progress, but they aren’t really in a position to do so for much longer. Among european unionists and federalists there has also been talk about a multi-level EU model, where you don’t have to 100% commit to EU regulations and laws, and still enjoy the benefit of the european singlemarket, possibly Schengen-Access, or at least visa free.

So, never say never ;)

oh no, imagine the horror! Americans will never break our strong employee protection laws in the EU and europe in general. Keep your autocracy to your GDP-loving-self ;)

the only I thing I am still shocked about is how little courts seem to care