Final Word from Tuesday, September 26, 2017

A comparison of the German and Czech elections is difficult, because there will be 2-3 pariah parties in Czech Parliament, not just one. If we are to believe the self-proclaimed democratic parties - and they wouldn't lie to us, would they? - no coalition in the Czech lands will be possible with ANO, the Communists (KSČM) or Tomio Okamura's SPD. This could make around 50% of the vote radioactive, with no one able to touch these parties without risking self-contamination and the augured devastation of Czech democracy and society. In Germany only AfD, with its 12.6% of the vote, is radioactive. It was unable to turn Angela Merkel into a pariah for her policy of welcoming migrants with open arms. Only in Saxony did voters consider refugees a greater threat than Merkel (and not by much). So there is no talk of everyone ganging up on Merkel, which is mathematically possible with or without AfD. In this light, AfD's shocking results don't look so spectacular. [Czech Republic Andrej Babiš CDU]