New Delhi [India], September 12 : Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that what is happening in Europe is the result of "systemic mistakes" by the West in politics, security and the economy, while commenting on the Alternative for Germany (AfD) surging into first place in state elections in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt.
On the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, Putin said, "I think that everything that is now happening in Europe as a whole is the result of systemic mistakes by the so-called West, or, more precisely, by the West's globalists, in the areas of politics, security, and the economy."
"Everyone makes mistakes. We have made quite a few mistakes ourselves, as has the rest of the world. But the problem for the West's globalists is that, after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, they felt themselves to be at the 'top of Olympus' and apparently believed that: first, everything was permitted to them; and second, that they were the ones who never make mistakes," he added.
According to DW, the far-right AfD was three points ahead in a new poll for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The poll came after the AfD defeated the centre-right CDU in Saxony-Anhalt's state election.
According to DW, Former Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has warned that "truth and lies are increasingly being blurred", including by people in power. Merkel also acknowledged that some decisions during her time as Chancellor helped fuel support for the AfD.
Earlier in September, Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as the largest party in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, according to exit polls, marking the first time since World War II that a far-right party has topped a state election in the country, Al Jazeera reported.
According to Al Jazeera, citing the exit poll data released by German broadcaster ARD on Sunday, the AfD secured 44.5 per cent of the vote, more than double the 18.5 per cent recorded by the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund hailed the projected result as a historic achievement.
“We have achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve,” Siegmund said as quoted by Al Jazeera.
“We have made history in this state," he added.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel also described the result as “historic”, saying the strong showing represented a clear mandate from voters. However, despite emerging comfortably ahead of the CDU, it remained unclear whether the AfD would be able to translate its electoral lead into control of the state government.
According to Al Jazeera, exit polls indicated that the AfD had narrowly fallen short of an absolute majority in the state parliament, leaving the question of government formation open.
Siegmund said the AfD was prepared to engage with parties prepared to support what he described as fundamental political change in Saxony-Anhalt, while making clear that his party would not compromise its political position to accommodate others.
The AfD has so far never been part of a governing coalition in any of Germany's 16 states or at the federal level. Mainstream political parties have maintained a refusal to cooperate with the party, a political barrier commonly referred to as the “firewall”, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The result is also a setback for Merz and his centre-right CDU, which finished a distant second in Saxony-Anhalt.