AFP, ERFURT, Germany, and ROMEGermany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party hoped for more gains in the ex-communist east yesterday, when voters went to the polls in the state of Thuringia, even as the party came under pressure in the wake of a deadly shooting at a synagogue. With a population of just more than 2 million people, and a similar agreement between parties not to govern with the AfD, Thuringia’s election was unlikely to cause any political earthquakes in Berlin. UMBRIA VOTEItalians yesterday headed to the polls in Umbria for a regional election heralded as a key test for both the young left-leaning government and a zealous new right-wing opposition alliance. Salvini collapsed Italy’s previous government two months ago in a failed bid to spark a parliamentary election that the then-Italian deputy prime minister hoped to win. However, he was thwarted by an unexpected tie-up between former foes, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and center-left Democratic Party (PD).

Source: Taipei Times October 27, 2019 16:07 UTC