An 83% turnout demonstrates the strength of a democracy that will have to get used to having the far right as a protagonist in parliament.

Ahead of Sunday’s elections, the Protestant, Catholic and other churches ask to “vote for parties that stand up for our democracy”. Alice Weidel’s AfD party rises in the polls amid tough immigration debates.

Although the offences against Christians have significantly grown in the past two years, for the federal government, “there is no increased threat to Christians”.

Ahead of February's elections in Germany, Frank Heinrich of the Evangelical Alliance explains to Evangelical Focus why a Christian vision introduces nuance into the overall tension and uncertainty.

The 23 February election could turn frustration into a historic rise of the far right. A journalist points to the importance of “acknowledge other opinions and not immediately condemn them”.

The first-ever victory of the far-right AfD comes in a context of growing divisions between how people in the east and the west of the country perceive society.

For some time now, the political right in Germany has been using the term ‘remigration’ to seek a ethnic cleansing in the country. These views cannot be justified from a gospel perspective.

A large majority refuses the initiative of the AfD party saying it would criminalise Muslims and is based on “wrong” data.

Angela Merkel today is recognised as one of the world’s most successful and trusted political leaders. Why?

A report of the German intelligence agency identifies over 30,000 right and left extremists in 2019. “Far-right extremism is our biggest security concern”, the Interior Minister says.

The inequality between East and West is still visible in issues such as migration and employment. “Christians need to get involved at all levels”, says Evi Rodemann of the Lausanne Movement Europe.

The training of imams, the foreign influence on Germany's mosques, and the role of Islamic theology in universities, were some of the topics discussed at the German Islam Conference.