Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has wrapped up a two-year investigation into the Alternative for Germany. The party's far-right branch is already under surveillance.
Many expected the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to continue growing stronger, but the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the far-right party's deep internal divisions.
"I regard this decision with great respect, though I greatly regret it," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced that she won't run for chancellor.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won big in this month's Brandenburg and Saxony state elections. A recent poll shows the AfD more popular than ever throughout Germany.
Fellow Jews in the country are baffled by a small Jewish faction within the Alternative for Germany, a party accused of racism and of downplaying the Nazis.
A booming economy and ever fewer migrants crossing the border haven't eased a populist backlash against the German chancellor's political allies in the wealthy alpine state of Bavaria.
It is the latest sign that many citizens are drawn to a populist movement that is reshaping politics in Germany by focusing debate squarely on immigration.
German leaders have dismissed the rise of the far-right as an electoral fluke that can be overcome by shifting policies a bit to the right. But if polls are to be believed, the approach isn't working.
