In December, when the German government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost the confidence of the Bundestag, it sparked a general election. It also provoked the fear of a deepening international crisis on top of the domestic one.

Between Russian President Vladimir Putin's growing aggression and the change to a new and more volatile U.S. administration, the news of another divisive German election was greeted with deep concern.

By the time the election results were announced, transatlantic tensions had increased, as it became increasingly apparent that President Trump did not share the view of a united front between the U.S. and Europe on halting Putin’s aggression. Trump began to impose tariffs on European goods, thereby threatening the recovery of an already underperforming economy.

The results of the German election should be greeted with a mixture of relief and grave concern. The relief is because, despite the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany or AfD Party, it is still not in a position to win elections or prevent the largest parties from forming a governing coalition without it.

But AfD, some of whose members have been associated with neo-Nazis, managed more than 10 million votes (over 20 percent of the total), despite having normalized and legitimized extreme anti-immigration and national-chauvinistic rhetoric. In light of the country’s history, this is an uncomfortable development.

For now, this party, along with some of its more........

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