Behind Germany’s far-right surge

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz answering questions from lawmakers during a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany; (Below) from left, Christian Skotnik, Doreen Gartner and Enrico Schult, AfD representatives, before a party meeting in Stavenhagen, Germany. — Reuters/ Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times

AT the height of an election campaign in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg in February, candidates from the area’s main political parties gathered for a televised debate. One of them came from a far-right party, the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

It was a first for the state, a relatively wealthy enclave of the former West Germany that has long resisted far-right leaders. And it was a sign of the times for the nation as a whole.