Germany held three regional elections this month and, although each of them had a unique result, much of the media and political commentary reduced them to: “German chancellor clings to power after latest loss to far right. Since 2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, “embattled mainstream threatened by emboldened far right” has become the overarching narrative about Europe. But while these elections were important, this reductive take both oversimplifies the complexities of contemporary European politics and drives a defeatist “end of democracy” narrative.

Saxony-Anhalt’s election on 6 September was a global news event – understandably, given Germany’s history, economy and place in Europe. The international media had speculated for months about an outright majority for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party came close, setting a record score with 43.8%, but it has so far failed to form a government, despite the amenable position of the “left-conservative” Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance.

Two weeks later, the AfD came in first again, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with 38.2% of the vote. International media interest was much less pronounced this time, maybe because it was the second of the three ballots, but more likely because the party was not close to reaching a majority. Moreover, the far-right success was overshadowed by the dramatic defeat for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, the party did not make it into a state parliament. The relatively modest loss of the governing Social Democratic Party (SPD), on the other hand, was barely discussed.

Finally,........

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