Germany's Far-Right AfD Wants Other Parties to Work With It
Germany's far-right party AfD has won a state election.
However, the party did not win a majority of seats.
AfD fell three seats short of ruling alone.
Now the party wants to form a new state government.
AfD says other parties must work together with it.
The party's leaders say this is what democracy demands.
They believe voters chose change and want it respected.
Many mainstream German parties have refused to work with AfD before.
They say the party holds extreme and dangerous views.
There is also a political agreement not to cooperate with AfD.
This is called a 'firewall' against the far right.
AfD says this firewall goes against the will of voters.
The party argues that ignoring election results is unfair to voters.
Other parties are now under pressure to respond.
They must decide whether to talk to AfD or refuse again.
The state election result shows growing support for AfD in Germany.
It follows a pattern of rising far-right support across parts of Europe.
This story is still developing as parties decide their next steps.
Vocabulary7 words
- far-right
- political ideas that are very extreme and often against equality
- majority
- more than half of the seats or votes
- government
- the group in charge of running a state or country
- democracy
- a system in which people vote to choose their leaders
- firewall
- an agreement by parties to refuse working with another party
- mainstream
- ideas or parties that are common and widely accepted
- cooperate
- to work together with someone
Quiz
Answer key
1. Three 2. It has extreme views 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Germany's far-right party AfD has won a state _____.
However, the party did not win a _____ of seats.
AfD fell three seats short of ruling _____.
Now the party wants to form a new state _____.
AfD says other parties must work _____ with it.
The party's leaders say this is what _____ demands.
Many mainstream German parties have _____ to work with AfD before.
They say the party holds _____ and dangerous views.
There is also a political agreement not to _____ with AfD.
This is called a _____ against the far right.
AfD says this firewall goes against the _____ of voters.
The state election result shows growing _____ for AfD in Germany.
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