Germany’s Far Right Is Close to Power. Appeals to “Defend Democracy” Won’t Stop It.One possibility is that a few Christian Democrats (CDU) who sympathize with the AfD and want nothing to do with Die Linke might switch sides. With its 17.2 percent share, the CDU’s ability to bring people together seems to have hit a low point. Alternatively, the BSW, on 5.3 percent, could be key. Whether BSW will support the AfD, as feared by the anti-AfD camp, or simply cost Siegmund his outright majority (as the AfD itself warned before the election) remains to be seen. Die Linke did a lot worse than polls suggested, on 8.6 percent; the Social Democrats (SPD) did slightly better with 9.3 percent; and the Greens did significantly better with 8.9 percent. If the Greens had failed to win any seats, as seemed possible, the AfD would likely have secured an absolute majority. Groups advocating tactical voting will likely interpret this outcome as validation of their efforts. Yet this overlooks the main consequence of this politics of interchangeability within the “democratic camp.” For it is made up of four weak parties that, taken together, are barely as strong as the AfD alone. The fact that this kind of “defense of democracy” is close to bankruptcy is evident from what “democracy” is being defended against here. For this election saw a near-absolute majority, a record voter turnout of 76 percent, and an enormous mobilization of previous nonvoters, the vast majority of whom went to the AfD.
https://jacobin.com/2026/09/afd-saxony-anhalt-election-nonvoters-leftThe Imperialist Owl: Duolingo is Sanctioning IraniansDuolingo’s green owl has become one of the most recognizable corporate mascots on the planet. It sends reminders, guilt-trips users over their streaks, and sells itself as a cheerful gateway to language learning across borders. But for Iranians, the owl now speaks the language of U.S. imperialism. As of September 1, Duolingo’s English Test is unavailable not only inside Iran but reportedly to people using Iranian identity documents anywhere in the world. Iranian students seeking admission, scholarships, visas, or a path into international education are being made to pay for Washington’s sanctions regime. Duolingo’s corporate restriction follows the suspension of a U.S. Treas
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